Filed under: Reviews | Tags: Aaron Janse, Alpenglow Festival, Chausson, Danielle Farina, Edward Aaron, Jesse Mills, Kyung Sun Lee, Mendelssohn, Rieko Aizawa, Turina
For 12 years, the Alpenglow Chamber Music Festival has been presented in Summit County, namely Silverthorne, Dillon, Frisco, and this year, Breckenridge. Their program book reads, and I quote, “In absolute terms, the Alpenglow Chamber Festival is one the best music festivals in America. If you haven’t yet attended this festival you are missing an extraordinary musical experience.” Those two sentences represent remarkable understatement. It is dumbfounding to me how such a remarkable group of musicians has escaped the notice of the press in Colorado, not to mention major recording companies.
The group is comprised of Artistic Director, Edward Aaron, who is the cellist and also the Artistic Director of the Metropolitan Museum Artists in Concert. The pianist is Rieko Aizawa, Jesse Mills, violin, Kyung Sun Lee, violin, Danielle Farina, viola, and Aaron Janse, viola and violin. All of these individuals have performed worldwide, had training at the world’s best musical institutions, and teach at fine schools. All of them are capable of performing chamber music that covers the entire repertoire of music history.
The program on Saturday, September 19, was performed at the new Colorado Mountain College campus just a mile or two north of Breckenridge. It opened with Joaquin Turina’s Scene Andalouse for Viola, Piano and String Quartet, Opus 7. Joaquin Turina (1882-1949) was born in Seville, and was trained at the Schola Cantorum in Paris. There, he studied with Vincent d’Indy. It was natural for Turina to be influenced and inspired by Spanish folk music, and he did have some contact with Manuel de Falla, though the strongest influence probably was Debussy. In this composition there are two movements depicting a scene that begins in the evening and ending with the movement entitled At The Window, which is a serenade to the beloved. Though the first movement opens with a piano solo, the viola is truly the solo instrument, for this work is really a concerto for viola and small chamber ensemble. Danielle Farina was the violist, and produced an absolutely lovely sound which was lush and warm. The tempo of the first movement is relatively rapid, but is interrupted by a habanera which is quite languorous. The second movement is reminiscent of a dialogue between two people – no doubt the lovers, one of whom is being serenaded. The second movement also repeats some of the themes from the first movement. Ms. Farina is such an accomplished musician that I will be forever spoiled hearing this work performed again. She was so mentally relaxed in her performance, and yet so musically attuned, that she easily brought the audience into the intimate surroundings that the composer created. I have heard this chamber group many times, and I am always impressed with the great ease with which they play together.
The second work on the program was Felix Mendelssohn’s String Quintet in A Major, Opus 18. As I have said before, when many people think of musical prodigies they always think of Mozart. But in many instances, I think Mendelssohn’s precociousness surpassed even Mozart’s. Mendelssohn was a virtuoso pianist, a virtuoso violinist, a virtuoso conductor, and a virtuoso composer. He was also a very fine painter and artist. He traveled often, and sent home illustrations to his family of the places he had visited and seen. They are most remarkable. This quintet was written when he was 17 years old in 1826, just a short time after he completed his famous Octet. Indeed, I am quite sure, though I have not closely examined the score, that there are melodic snippets that come from the Octet. This quintet is remarkably difficult, and it was abundantly clear throughout this work that the performers are virtuosos themselves. I do not say that lightly. The tempo of the first movement was perfect and the sound very well balanced. The ease with which these performers play together reminded me of the Budapest Quartet of years ago. Their entrances in the second movement, an expression of grief, were so smooth and so precise that it simply could not have been better. The pizzicatos at the end of the movement were absolutely together with no raggedness at all. Jesse Mills and Kyung Sun Lee were superb.
The third movement of this quintet is a fugue where Mendelssohn indicates: Scherzo: Allegro di Molto. The tempo that these chamber players took was unbelievable. I have heard lesser chamber groups attempt this piece, and the problem is that many times two individuals are clearly superior to the rest of the group. Since this movement is a fugue, those exceptional players have to make adjustments for the other three, and sometimes it is obvious that the other three are struggling. That simply did not happen with the Alpenglow Chamber Players. I meant what I said above, that these individuals are all equal and all virtuosos. When it came time for the next fugal entrance, they just smiled at each other and got to work, and, I might add, they got to work with incredible joy. It has been a very long time since I have seen a chamber group have such a good time performing with each other, in spite of the fact that they were playing their brains out. The fourth movement has a certain inevitable and irrevocable feel about it: as if one stood in the way, it would run them down. Even at the age of 17, Mendelssohn had to have been smiling with satisfaction as he wrote the final measure of this movement. I can guarantee you that this group made his music smile.
After the intermission, the Alpenglow Chamber Players performed the Concerto in D Major for Violin, Piano and String Quartet, Opus 21, by Ernest Chausson. Many critics have worried themselves to death trying to classify this piece of chamber music. It is unusual, but I have never understood why people don’t just accept what Chausson says and be done with it. The work does call for two violins, so in this instance, the superb Aaron Janse but his viola aside and became the second violinist in this piece. It is a beautiful work with a very declamatory opening of three big octaves which the work is based on and which reappear in the final movement. The introduction is lengthy but out of it grows the ethereal first theme. Jesse Mills was the soloist in this work (and by the way, he is married to the pianist of the group, Rieko Aizawa), and the tone of his violin was something to hear. It really was both ethereal and wraithlike, while the piano has arpeggio after arpeggio. The second movement is a sicilienne which is a flowing dance movement from the Baroque. Mills gave the piece and uncommon grace and mellifluousness. The third movement was very emotional and had some perfect double stops. The last movement is absolutely playful, and I have to say that Rieko Aizawa gave this movement the same kind of gracefulness and ease that I have long associated with Menahem Pressler. Jesse Mills exhibited the same virtuosity in this movement as he did in the Mendelssohn.
I realize that many readers will say, cynically, that the performance had to have some problems, so I will introduce two to keep those individuals happy. The piano could have been voiced – the upper register was too bright and sounded a little like breaking glass. Also, the programs could have been more carefully proofread.
All through this article I have referred to this group as the Alpenglow Chamber Players. The problem is, even though I have heard this group several times, I do not know if that is their official name. My point is this: they should decide on a name, and I think Alpenglow Chamber Players is a fine one, and then pursue recordings and more performances wherever they can find them. This group performs so well together, and they are clearly having such a wonderful time doing it, that they truly could become as well-known as the aforementioned Budapest Quartet, the old Juilliard Quartet, or the Beaux-Arts Trio. If anyone out there thinks that this is an exaggeration, come to the Alpenglow Festival, buy their recordings, and just listen and listen and listen. You will be amazed.
1 Comment so far
Leave a comment
I think this is a very insightful blog. I’m forwarding the link to many musician friends. thanks, robin, for your knowledge and dedication!
Comment by Jesse Mills September 26, 2009 @ 10:40 pm