Musicians from the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra*
Wilks Studio
Music Hall
Cincinnati, OH
October 28, 2022

Gounod: Petite symphonie
Schumann: Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 47
Beethoven: String Quintet in C major, Op. 29

The evening prior to a particularly memorable Cincinnati Symphony program, one had the distinct pleasure of hearing select CSO musicians band together for a varied selection of chamber music. Held in the Wilks Studio – a rather more intimate space than the Springer Auditorium – the trio of works presented spanned the nineteenth-century, traversing configurations as diverse as wind nonet, piano quartet, and string quintet.

Going in reverse chronological order, the program opened with Gounod’s delightful Petite symphonie, scored for nine winds – a work which flautist Henrik Heide aptly introduced as one of the “pearls of the wind chamber music repertoire.” A stately, classical introduction initiated, an enticing set up for the movement proper’s pure joie de vivre, its Gallic lightness a sparkling contrast to the weightier Germanic works that would follow. A limpid, singing flute line highlighted the Andante cantabile, while the scherzo saw its march-like material regally announced by the horns. The finale rounded matters off with insouciant charm.

Schumann’s Piano Quartet occupied a vastly different soundworld – and also makes for an interesting contrast to the composer’s more frequently heard but contemporaneous Piano Quintet, also in E-flat major: though not without ample drama, the Quartet tends to be more restrained and intimate. Introductory material functioned a bit like a rhapsodic warmup, and a richly flowing melody built to fervent passions, encouraged by the powerful pianism of Dror Biran. Schumann took a cue from Beethoven in placing the scherzo second, a movement played by this group of musicians seamlessly even at breakneck speed. The slow movement that followed was truly gorgeous, with especially generous material from the cello (Daniel Culnan) and a searching line in the violin (Charles Morey), and the melody was increasingly decorated – very much in the spirit of the lieder pouring from the composer’s pen at the time. An energetic affair, the finale was especially striking in its fugato passage, expertly and crisply articulated.

Beethoven’s String Quintet in C major is, perhaps surprisingly, his only work in the medium, save for some adaptations of other pieces. The work opened graceful and genial, varied by sprightly filigree, occasionally leading to stormier sections – especially in the development. A slow movement was sweetly lyrical by contrast, while the scherzo saw a tenuous balance of drama and buoyancy – although a handful of passages could have been served by better intonation. As Beethoven was oft to do in closing movements, the final Presto was replete with contrapuntal textures, though it was the more playful material that was given the last word.

*
Gounod:
Henrik Heide, flute
Lon Bussell, oboe
Emily Beare, oboe
Christopher Pell, clarinet
Ixi Chen, clarinet
Martin Garcia, bassoon
Jennifer Monroe, bassoon
Elizabeth Freimuth, horn
Lisa Conway, horn

Schumann:
Charles Morey, violin
Christopher Fischer, viola
Daniel Culnan, cello
Dror Biran, piano

Beethoven:
Minyoung Baik, violin
Eric Bates, violin
Caterina Longhi, viola
Gerry Itzkoff, viola
Theodore Nelson, cello