Camerata San Antonio
A sun and two rediscovered planets
February 22, 2011In a superbly played concert, Feb. 20, Camerata San Antonio turned its attention to Johannes Brahms and two largely forgotten early 20th century Austrian composers, nowadays enjoying something of a revival, who followed in his wake.
One didn’t stray far from Brahms’s shadow and style. Carl Frühling’s Clarinet Trio in A Minor would not be mistaken for something by Brahms, but some of its thematic material might be. The third movement, a sensuous andante that ventures a peek into expressionist territory, is marvelously constructed: The piano (Melinda Lee Masur) and cello (Kenneth Freudigman) pose a question, which is answered by the clarinet, and the two utterances weave together with increasing complexity before sorting themselves out again at the end. At times the music loses its way or becomes too congested, but there is much to like, and it put clarinetist Ilya Shterenberg’s lovely tone on fine display.
Franz Schreker’s “Der Wind,” for a mixed quintet, is of several stylistic minds. Much of this 1910 piece is opulent, theatrical, erotically charged music whose evasive rhythms and mobile harmonies recall Claude Debussy and early Schoenberg. But schmaltzy, salon-worthy waltzes intrude at several points, and about two-thirds of the way through there’s an episode that seems to anticipate George Gerswhin’s jazz. Schreker crams a lot of ideas into a 10-minute frame. If the whole doesn’t quite hang together, the individual moments are well made, with intricate, witty byplay. It benefited from spirited individual performances and alert teamwork from Ms. Masur, Mr. Freudigman, Mr. Shterenberg, violinist Ertan Torgul and hornist Jeff Garza.
Brahms himself was represented by the Horn Trio, Op. 40, in a performance of extraordinary presence and top-drawer craft. Mr. Garza delivered brilliant tone and authoritative rhetoric. Mr. Torgul supplied deep warmth and intensity. Ms. Masur, one of the strongest chamber musicians in my experience, kept assertiveness and collaboration in perfect balance throughout the concert. Her signal contribution? I think the word is “luster.”
Mike
Greenberg
