University of Arizona Faculty Recital
"The Magic of Mendelssohn"
September 7, 2016
Tucson, Arizona
It has been far too hot for way too long in this Northern Sonora Desert town, and too dry of the soul-feeding, endlessly nuanced emotional sustenance a live concert of great chamber music can provide. Well, this is the time to rejoice, as University of Arizona students and teachers are back. Autumn's relief has finally arrived! Last night, September 7th, a coterie of UA music students and spiritually-dehydrated Old Pueblo denizens rushed bravely through the dying remnants of Hurricane Newton, to hear the University of Arizona, Fred Fox School of Music Violin and Piano Faculty Duo of Lauren Roth and John Milbauer, perform Beethoven and Vaughn Williams. Cellist Marybeth Brown-Palmbeck later joined them for the ever-invigorating and deservedly revered war horse, Mendelssohn's Piano Trio #1, Op. 49. As Holsclaw Hall's very modest seating capacity of 204 quickly over-filled, 40 or so concert goers were directed to a classroom for live-streaming of the recital. Out in the night, Hurricane Newton's long, spiraling arms delivered one last, warm, negative-ion-rich embrace, as his brief yet powerful reign over the desert floor wistfully unwound. In auditorium, determination's rich karmic rewards showered down upon the assembled desert Monsoon survivors, thoroughly and decisively resolving their most desperate sonic pangs into heady satiation, as they gleefully gorged on this fine and hearty aural soul feast labeled 'The Magic of Mendelssohn'.
Beethoven's First Violin and Piano Sonata is fresh and vibrant music. Its terms - already virtuosic in technique - are characterized by exciting instrumental action, and exhibit at least one element of Beethoven's profound balancing of natural antinomies; thematic integrity versus liberated compositional exploration. Imitative interplay strides boldly into crisp climaxes and conclusions. The beautiful round tone of Roth's violin turned sharp yet earthy, driving with and against Beethoven's decidedly predominant piano part. The performers mutual awareness in their shaping of Beethoven's bold phrases, was striking and refreshing, rigorously voicing every height and depth Herr Beethoven had reached. These interpreters seemed to me an excellent and very effective match for this music. Less pleasing, Holsclaw's famously over-alive acoustics threatened to wash away Milbauer's smooth, yet purposely dry passage work, in both the Beethoven and Mendelssohn. This, when a full house should have helped flatten out Holsclaw's narrow trajectory of reverberations. As sonorities were rinsed of their mid-high-range polish, I wondered if the in-house Model 'L' (Steinway's least tone-rich model) was not the right instrument to overcome the acoustic conditions. Would a lightly touched concert grand, or even fully ravished little Model 'M', have supplied a skilled phrase-sculptor like John Milbauer with more of the sonic tools he no doubt would prefer to find at his fingertips for performance? Possibly so. Thus spoke my ears. Later, I happened to hear part of the recorded performance, which, pleasantly, delivered much more of the piano's fine details.
'The Lark Ascending' is a most worthy violin showpiece, while almost completely eschewing pyrotechnical displays. It forms a leisurely sound exploration, the violin cresting the waves of Vaughn Williams' lightly brushed pastels. The color-driven content of the orchestral score is fully impossible to properly render on piano, and was rightly understated by Milbauer, allowing the violin to easily shine from all angles. The evening's most poignant pianissimo passages, painted tenderly with Roth's undulating motions and soft, steady bow, commanded this audience's closest attention. An ethereal atmosphere drew increasingly held breath – almost to catharsis; finally fading in effervescence. Fantastic.
Mendelssohn's Piano Trio #1 is a tour de force of both lyricism and drive. And while the piano is generally trapped in a Devil's 'perpetuum mobile' of sinister triplets, this is a full, four-movement celebration of deliciously energetic themes, developed with an ever-subtle grading of motives and phrasing. Each movement, in most every element, appears perfectly balanced, drawing fair comparisons with Mozart and Schubert. "Must always a beautiful, bountiful evening end?" asks Felix. And while he brings great energy and clarity of purpose to conclude the trio's Finale, the effect - at least on most modern listeners - is a head full of rhyming melodies, joyously sung, rather than a great culmination of musical forces. These focused performers truly applied their chops to this meaty beast, maintaining tight 'ensemble' throughout – a generous gift, through determined dedication, to a timely and lucky audience. The finish of each work drew, hearty, well-deserved ovations. 'Merci beaucoup - encore!'
Beethoven's First Violin and Piano Sonata is fresh and vibrant music. Its terms - already virtuosic in technique - are characterized by exciting instrumental action, and exhibit at least one element of Beethoven's profound balancing of natural antinomies; thematic integrity versus liberated compositional exploration. Imitative interplay strides boldly into crisp climaxes and conclusions. The beautiful round tone of Roth's violin turned sharp yet earthy, driving with and against Beethoven's decidedly predominant piano part. The performers mutual awareness in their shaping of Beethoven's bold phrases, was striking and refreshing, rigorously voicing every height and depth Herr Beethoven had reached. These interpreters seemed to me an excellent and very effective match for this music. Less pleasing, Holsclaw's famously over-alive acoustics threatened to wash away Milbauer's smooth, yet purposely dry passage work, in both the Beethoven and Mendelssohn. This, when a full house should have helped flatten out Holsclaw's narrow trajectory of reverberations. As sonorities were rinsed of their mid-high-range polish, I wondered if the in-house Model 'L' (Steinway's least tone-rich model) was not the right instrument to overcome the acoustic conditions. Would a lightly touched concert grand, or even fully ravished little Model 'M', have supplied a skilled phrase-sculptor like John Milbauer with more of the sonic tools he no doubt would prefer to find at his fingertips for performance? Possibly so. Thus spoke my ears. Later, I happened to hear part of the recorded performance, which, pleasantly, delivered much more of the piano's fine details.
'The Lark Ascending' is a most worthy violin showpiece, while almost completely eschewing pyrotechnical displays. It forms a leisurely sound exploration, the violin cresting the waves of Vaughn Williams' lightly brushed pastels. The color-driven content of the orchestral score is fully impossible to properly render on piano, and was rightly understated by Milbauer, allowing the violin to easily shine from all angles. The evening's most poignant pianissimo passages, painted tenderly with Roth's undulating motions and soft, steady bow, commanded this audience's closest attention. An ethereal atmosphere drew increasingly held breath – almost to catharsis; finally fading in effervescence. Fantastic.
Mendelssohn's Piano Trio #1 is a tour de force of both lyricism and drive. And while the piano is generally trapped in a Devil's 'perpetuum mobile' of sinister triplets, this is a full, four-movement celebration of deliciously energetic themes, developed with an ever-subtle grading of motives and phrasing. Each movement, in most every element, appears perfectly balanced, drawing fair comparisons with Mozart and Schubert. "Must always a beautiful, bountiful evening end?" asks Felix. And while he brings great energy and clarity of purpose to conclude the trio's Finale, the effect - at least on most modern listeners - is a head full of rhyming melodies, joyously sung, rather than a great culmination of musical forces. These focused performers truly applied their chops to this meaty beast, maintaining tight 'ensemble' throughout – a generous gift, through determined dedication, to a timely and lucky audience. The finish of each work drew, hearty, well-deserved ovations. 'Merci beaucoup - encore!'
~
Steven Gendel
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