The Boston Chamber Music Society (BCMS) gave the second performance of the Crowell Concert Series was on the evening of Saturday, Oct. 11. Artistic Director and cellist Ronald Thomas also led a master class for students earlier that day.
The concert opened with Faure’s “Dolly Suite for Piano Four Hands,” which set the mood of the evening with its frenetic energy transforming into beguiling charm. Martin Kasik and Randall Hodgkinson, two accomplished virtuosos in their own right, mastered the delightful character of Faure’s duet while maintaining an underlying sense of motion.
“The musicians were very emotive,” said Mike Silvers, a student visiting from Bates College. “Watching the pianists was like watching synchronized swimming.”
Kasik and Hodgkinson, sharing the same piano bench as well as the same keyboard, moved in sync with each other both musically and physically. They gently released the familiar waltz in the opening Berceuse and brought to life the festive Spanish themes in the final movement.
A modern viola sonata written by Hall Overton was the follow-up, illuminating another dimension of the talent of the BCMS. Violist Marcus Thompson, a member of the faculty at the New England Conservatory of Music, played the dignified sonata, successfully carrying out the challenging contemporary aspects of the piece.
The Overton composition highlighted and used the alto voice and somewhat muted sound of the viola to its advantage, providing an interesting contrast with the familiarity of the piano.
“Even though [the violist] wasn’t traditionally expressive, I liked the way he interacted with the pianist and the way they seemed to be going in the same direction, musically,” said Robbin Friedman ’04.
Overton, an American composer who died in 1972, was greatly influenced by jazz, and this was evident both in the piece and in the performance. The piece was refreshingly different from the Faure in its syncopations and rhythmic complexities, and the musicians emphasized that difference in their nuanced execution of the two works.
Hodgskinson, who played the piano part, interacted with Thompson on a subdued yet intricate level. The shared experience of a single piece is perhaps the essence of chamber music playing.
Founded in 1983, the BCMS is a collection of eight professional musicians who perform regularly from the chamber music repertoire in various combinations. This flexibility of assembly allows them to master the breadth of the rich repertoire.
The final flourish of the evening was energetically delivered in Dvorak’s “Dumky” piano trio. Kasik returned to the stage with cellist Thomas and violinist Elina Valhala. An accomplished Finnish performer, Valhala took the stage in a striking black sequined dress and proceeded to play her violin with an equally commanding sound.
“I thought it was the most visually stimulating concert I’ve been to,” remarked Silvers, citing Valhala’s expressiveness as an example.
The Dvorak was everything Dvorak should be—lush, heart-wrenching, exciting and distinctly Romantic—and yet, importantly, it was also cohesive. The members of the trio exhibited their various strengths: Valhala displayed powerful musical presence; Thomas performed invigorating cello solos; and Kasik demonstrated control over the busy piano part. Their talents came together seamlessly in a rousing performance, which received three curtain calls.
“The content of the performance exceeded my expectations,” said Amy Todd ’04. “They just played three really good pieces which went together really well.”
The BCMS played three disparate pieces with complex and frenzied parts, and still maintained an admirable, enjoyable level of musical unity.
“[With chamber music] there’s always something going on,” Thomas said in the master class. “Every part is important.”
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