Alicia Hui, violin †
Siwoo Kim, violin †‡
Henry Kramer, piano *‡
Jeffrey Myers, violin *
John Stulz, viola *†
Alice Yoo, cello *
Matthew Zalkind, cello †‡
Gabriel Campos Zamora, clarinet †

* Fauré / † Choi / ‡ Ravel

Southern Theatre
Columbus, OH
September 4, 2022

Fauré: Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 15
Choi: With Winds III
Ravel: Piano Trio

VIVO Music Festival closed the eighth edition of its annual chamber music celebration Sunday afternoon at the Southern Theatre, an event which also served to unofficially open Chamber Music Columbus’ banner 75th season. As with all of the elder organization’s upcoming concerts, Sunday’s included a newly commissioned work, as well as poem from the season’s poet laureate, Jennifer Hambrick – known to listeners of WOSU, as well as the host of VIVO’s “Beer & Beethoven” held a few nights prior. Hambrick’s entry “Stones to join the mountain with the rock” fit the spirit of the occasion, the joining of forces of two very fine chamber music organizations.

Fauré’s Piano Quartet No. 1 boasted dark-hued, dramatic beginnings, rather Brahmsian in persuasion, with the virtuosic piano writing and its tumultuous octaves (Henry Kramer) a standout. The scherzo was markedly more Gallic and of irresistible charm, while the Adagio was a gorgeous respite, with a particularly affecting and resonant cello line (Alice Yoo). The finale recalled the virtuosity of the beginning to bring the opening selection to an enthusiastic close.

South Korean composer Jaehyuck Choi was present to introduce his clarinet quintet With Winds III, the first of Chamber Music Columbus’ seven commissions to come to life. A taste of Choi’s work was sampled at the aforementioned Beer & Beethoven event in which violinist Alicia Hui performed his Self in Mind I. In addition to VIVO, violist John Stulz also counts himself a member of the Paris-based new music group Ensemble intercontemporain, and it was there he first became acquainted with Choi. Choi’s commission served as a tribute to CMC’s founder James N. Cain, and moreover, the clarinet quintet medium was apropos as one of the organization’s first performances featured the Walden Quartet with clarinetist Donald McGinnis. Choi spoke of finding influence from contrasting works of visual arts, a thread he discussed at length during my interview with him a few months prior.

Terse, rapid gestures in the strings opened, punctuated by a long-breathed tone in the clarinet (Gabriel Campos Zamora), emblematic of the work’s near obsession with pointed contrasts. The work’s dense textures made substantial use of extended techniques, pushing the capabilities of both the musicians and their instruments alike. A passage cast in the violin’s highest possible range was otherworldly in effect, while a mute in the clarinet provided yet another striking sonority in work’s final segment before matters evaporated into silence.

The afternoon closed with Ravel’s remarkable Piano Trio. The opening Modéré was dreamy and evocative, with the performers adroitly negotiating the 8/8 meter – suggestive of the Basque zortziko – complexities that felt all but effortless in this musical conversation amongst friends. What followed was a rare scherzo from Ravel, its gossamer textures almost like a work of Saint-Saëns. The Passacaille easily serves as the heart of the work, searching probing depths. A solemn statement, it was a juxtaposition of the austere and the deeply felt. Decorative filigree was abundant in the finale, given with meticulous attention to detail, and the self-assured piano in particular pointed towards a big-boned finish.