Surveying our ecletic arts scene, from the galleries to the stage.
Saturday afternoon's concert for the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth was a weighty affair -- in the significance of the music played, the caliber of the performers and even length (close to 21/2 hours). There probably won't be another chamber-music program this packed with masterpieces the rest of the season.
The performers at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth were pianist Jon Nakamatsu (one of the most dependable winners of the Van Cliburn Competition) and a quartet of veteran musicians of the region: violinists Robert Davidovici and Michael Shih, violist Misha Galaganov and cellist Eugene Osadchy.
The composers represented were all major-leaguers: Beethoven, Haydn, Shostakovich and Brahms. But the program was exceptionally varied.
That point was most obviously made with Haydn's String Quartet in G Major, Opus 76, No. 1, and Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 9 in E-flat, Opus 117. Haydn had a sunny disposition, Shostakovich was almost pathologically pessimistic and the personality of each was reflected in his quartet.
The amiable performance of the Haydn emphasized its wit and high spirits. Even the slow movement -- usually the place for a turn to the serious in an otherwise light-hearted work -- didn't stray far from good cheer. Haydn's originality was certainly evident in the third and fourth movements, which were full of melodic and rhythmic surprises.
The performers were Shih on first violin and Davidovici on second, along with Galaganov and Osadchy.
Davidovici and Shih switched positions for the Shostakovich quartet, which is austere and full of gloom, if not outright anguish. The central allegretto (there are five movements) comes about as close as Shostakovich gets to being playful, though it's a tad too manic, not to say hysterical. It's also a work full of originality.
The four musicians gave it an engrossing performance that created a real sense of drama. At the final notes one could almost sense a silent "whew!" from the tense audience.
As always, Nakamatsu was in superb form for his part of the program: Beethoven's Piano Trio in B-flat, Opus 11, and Brahms' Piano Quintet in F minor, Opus 34. His playing was full of both drama and grace, forceful when power was needed but cooperative and subtle when his partners came to the fore.
The highly energetic trio dates from Beethoven's youth and is one more bit of evidence that he was a full-blown genius very early. The Brahms quintet has long been a favorite of Cliburn Competition semifinalists, of course. Its performance was a spectacular conclusion to Saturday's program.
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