By Eileen Wingard
LA JOLLA, California — Sounds can evoke memories in the interconnected world of music. Many recollections came to mind as I listened to the Summerfest concert Tuesday evening, August 23 in Sherwood Hall.
This concert included a 7 p.m. Prelude, which featured the Beacon Street Trio performing the Brahms Piano Trio in B major. Counting the Prelude portion, the evening had the most variety in instrumentation and musical periods of all the Summerfest offerings. There were six instruments from the woodwind choir, three from the strings, and the piano from the percussion section. There were examples from the Classical, Romantic and Modern Periods.
During the Prelude, the Brahms Trio, a prime example of the Romantic Period, was given an impassioned reading by three young graduates of the New England Conservatory, Sophie Scolnik-Brower, piano, Luke Hsu, violin, and Rainer Crosett, cello. At one of Summerfest’s free open coaching sessions earlier in the week, I encountered Sophie’s aunt, my friend Nina Scolnik, head of the piano faculty at UC Irvine and a graduate of Oberlin College, where she studied with Joseph Schwartz, the talented pianist with whom I used to perform when we were students at Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles.
Rainer Crosett, the cellist of the Beacon Street Trio, currently studies with Ralph Kirshbaum, the brilliant cellist, whose first cello teacher was my old school chum and trio partner, Roberta Harrison Gustafeste.
The Haydn String Quartet in B-flat Major, Opus 50, No. 1 opened the concert. It was given a light-hearted reading, with the last movement being particularly jovial. The Verona Quartet is the current graduate resident quartet at the Juilliard School. Their ensemble was meticulous, often sounding like one large stringed instrument as they tossed themes back and forth.
Haydn’s Quartets, wonderful examples of the Classical Period, brought back memories of my Fulbright year, studying at the Hochschule fuer Musik in Stuttgart and residing in Tauberbischofsheim, where I was invited to regularly read through Haydn’s String Quartets with several other musicians in the town. It was there that my love for Hadyn’s string quartets was kindled.
Two 20th Century works followed, Nielsen’s Wind Quintet in A Major, Opus 43, and, after intermission, Britten’s Six Metamorphoses for Solo Oboe, Opus 49. The Nielsen work was inspired by the members of the Copenhagen Wind Quintet, who became close friends of the composer. The composition not only utilized the virtuosity of the players, but, in the last movement’s variations, like Elgar in his Enigma Variations, describes the personalities of each member. Although there were beautiful moments of blended unity, such as the chorale theme in the last movement, each instrument’s distinctive voice was more often showcased.
Catherine Ransom Karoly, flute, now associate principal of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, sang with focused presence. Laura Griffiths, oboe and English horn, principal oboe of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, played with the vibrant beauty that made me choose the oboe as my favorite woodwind instrument when I played violin in the Hollenbeck Junior High School Orchestra in East Los Angeles. Maybe it was because of the talented, blue-eyed oboist with curly blond hair named Leonard Niehaus. He later went on to compose movie scores for Clint Eastwood films and arrangements for college jazz bands.
The clarinetist for the Nielsen work, John Bruce Yeh, a member of the Chicago Symphony, delivered brief introductory remarks. His playing, especially in the variation with the bassoon, was full of remarkable pyrotechnics.
The bassoonist, Keith Bunke, holds the post of principal bassoon of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. His lyrical opening phrases of the Nielsen immediately established his expressive, penetrating sound.
The horn was played by Erik Ralske, principal horn of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He performed with security and resonance. Whenever I hear great horn playing, I remember my late friend, Joe Eger, former principal of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic and the Israel Philharmonic. His was the most artistic, modulated horn playing I had ever encountered.
Oboist Liang Wang displayed his consummate virtuosity in the challenging six movements of Britten’s Six Metamorphoses for Solo Oboe. Each represented a character from Ovid’s mythological tales. Particularly humorous was BACCHUS with sounds of drunken burps. Wang is the principal oboist of the New York Philharmonic.
All the wind players for this concert were outstanding artists.
The final work on this varied program was Faure’s Piano Quartet in C Minor, Opus 15. This piece, composed in 1876-9, seemed to foreshadow the music of the Impressionists. Faure’s teacher was Saint-Saens and Faure, in turn, was the teacher of Ravel.
The performance was enhanced by the sensitive piano playing of the Israeli-born Shai Wosner, and the artistry of the strings: Cheryl Staples, associate concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, Cynthia Phelps, principal violist of the New York Philharmonic, and Hai-Ye-Ni, principal cellist of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Cynthia Phelps’ velvet tone was dominant in the Adagio.
I recall her stint as a colleague in the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, serving as our principal violist, before going to the New York Philharmonic. I thought of her mother, Dawn Adams, an accomplished violinist, with whom I played quartets in Feri Roth’s Chamber Music Class at UCLA many years ago.
I remember meeting Cheryl Staples for the first time when she was the concertmaster of the Young Musicians Debut Orchestra in Los Angeles and my sister, Violinist Zina Schiff, was soloing with the orchestra in the Barber Violin Concerto. Cheryl studied with Robert Lipsett at the Colburn School at the time.
The four outstanding Summerfest musicians gave a polished performance of the Faure Piano Quartet, bringing out all the subtle nuances and interesting harmonies. In the last movement, Staples’ violin tones were like radiant beams of sunshine.
The audience rose in enthusiastic applause for this remarkable evening.
For me, it was a concert of rich variety, played by outstanding performers. It was also an evening that elicited many wonderful memories of music-making and musical friends.
*
Wingard is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. She may be contacted via eileen.wingard@sdjewishworld.com. Comments intended for publication in the space below MUST be accompanied by the letter writer’s first and last name and by his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the United States.)