Chamber Music Collective @ Solon Center For The Arts 9/20/09

During the pre-concert question and answer portion of the Gallery Talk at Sunday's chamber music recital, a gentleman asked about the classical music education at Cleveland State University's main campus in downtown Cleveland. He hadn't known that such a thing existed. Considering the context of the situation, it was both sad and joyous!

The occasion was the first presentation of a new alliance between the Solon Center for the Arts and CSU’s Solon (Eastside) Campus, formed to bring professional chamber music to the Solon area, while showcasing the many excellent faculty members at CSU to the community. Many of the music faculty are members of the Cleveland Orchestra, or highly-trained performers in their own right.

The first presentation of this collaboration --Chamber Music Collective-- established a high level of musicianship from the six performers: Robert Cassidy, piano; Elizabeth Camus, oboe; Bryan Dumm, cello; Richard King, horn; Barrick Stees, bassoon, and Robert Woolfrey, clarinet. All but Cassidy are in the orchestra, while he and Dumm are faculty at CSU.

The program began with Sonata for Horn and Piano by Paul Leary, a former composition student at CIM, who, in fact wrote the piece for a then-student of Mr. King. The teacher then appropriated the piece for himself, to very good effect. The first movement A.D. 1597, (after dowland) was lyrical and melodic in nature, while the second King Henry,(anonymous) was almost as much of a challenge to the pianist as the horn player. In addition to actually playing the keys of the instrument, Mr. Cassidy (for the first time in his career, he noted prior to the performance) strummed or plucked various strings of the Steinway grand, sounding at times like a harp and at others like thunder or perhaps a brigade of drummers in the distance. Interesting. The final Hark! The Echoing Air, (after Purcell) featured highly-embellished Purcell tunes, much as singers of his era must have done.

Mr. Dumm and Mr. Woolfrey then joined the pianist for a lovely rendition of the autumnal Trio for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano, in A Minor, Op. 114 of Johannes Brahms. Much of the writing for the cello and clarinet uses the lower register, allowing these two performers to demonstrate the warmth and richness of their instruments in that range. All three musicians were definitely of the same mind in this rendition, in which they seemed to take turns leading or following, and sometimes even repeating each other. At other times, they went in opposite directions. The final Allegro was a look back at the summer (or perhaps spring) of the composer’s life, when he was perhaps reminded of his younger, more vibrant self. It was gorgeous.

I find it amazing that a composer creates a work for a particular instrument, and it’s considered one of the staples of that instrument’s repertoire. And then, along comes a performer on a different instrument who appropriates the work, and a bit further along, the same thing happens again, only with yet a different instrument in mind. Such an example is provided by the Fantasiestücke, Op. 73 by Robert Schumann, who wrote it originally for clarinet, before it was adopted by cellists as their own. (Of course, this also seems somewhat logical, considering that Schumann used that title for several of his works.) Fittingly, it now has another new life as a piece for horn and piano.

All those notes hold no fear for Mr. King (or Mr. Cassidy, for that matter) as the lyrical complexities of the score were easily dispatched in a fabulous performance. Of course, it’s the task of professionals to make it look easy, and that they did. We must be grateful to the person who decided to arrange the piece for horn—it’s a terrific addition to the repertoire.

At first I thought ‘I’ve heard this before’ but after a few more bars, I came to realize I hadn’t. At least I don’t think I ever have heard the remarkable and rarely performed Quintet for Piano, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn and Bassoon, in E-flat Major, Op. 16 by Ludwig van Beethoven. It’s an early work, full of youthful enthusiasm and buoyancy, and very reminiscent of another early work by the same composer: his Septet, opus 20, from two or so years later. And why shouldn’t he borrow tunes from himself? They were certainly good ones! The melodies move around between the instruments, first one then another taking the lead.

The second movement Andante cantabile begins with a deceptively simple piano when then leads into a different theme shared one after the other by the wind instruments. Beginning with bassoon, soon joined by clarinet, then oboe and finally horn, the ensemble presents an elegiac mood. The final Rondo is brisk and jaunty Beethoven again—and all’s right with the world. At least musically speaking.

There are two more performances scheduled for this first season of Chamber Music Collective. For more information, call 440.337.1400, or visit http://www.SolonArts.org.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz, who writes: My most recently published book is Ardenwycke Unveiled (e-book and trade paper). Cerridwen has another contemporary romance from me, But Not For Love, currently available only as an e-book, but perhaps will be in print next year. I hope to soon get around to completing some of the 30+ incomplete books in my computer!

By the way, Cerridwen has also accepted two of my short stories in their Scintillating Samples (complimentary reads) area: Song of the Swan and Unexpected Comfort. I love photography as well, as you can see here. Occasionally I teach writing workshops and sometimes do editing or ghostwriting on a free-lance basis. But over and above everything else, there's always been the writing. I can't imagine my life without it.

 (:divend:)