Models first, musicians second

Author: Andrew Throdahl

On Nov. 16 the Mahaney Center for the Arts Concert Hall was unusually full, making one wonder if the Claremont Trio's absurd advertising scheme had succeeded in luring curious listeners - or rather viewers. On their posters scattered around campus the three young women - violinist Emily Bruskin, cellist Julia Bruskin and pianist Donna Kwong - are depicted sitting in some boudoir wearing gowns, presumably taken by some luscious harmony.

These posters are direct evidence of the music industry's recent efforts to popularize classical music - turning album covers, posters and other advertisements into something totally unrelated to the music. In the case of the Claremont Trio, these advertisements go so far as to turn the musicians into sex kittens.

From the trashy look of their poster, one expected the Claremont's playing to be tastelessly sentimental, although the unusual program, consisting of Frank Martin and Anton Arensky, proved otherwise. The performance as a whole, however, was inconsistent, and the early trio by French impressionist Claude Debussy, which opened the evening, bordered at times on this expected froth. Certain tonal elements in the piece foreshadow the composer's maturity, although on the whole, the work sounded more like Massenet or Delibes than the Debussy we know and love. Programs of such off-the-beaten-path music can be refreshing, but they can also imply a fear of comparison. Most serious chamber ensembles make a jab at the repertoire standards before devoting themselves to the oddity.

After the Debussy, Julia Bruskin introduced the audience to Frank Martin's "Trio on Irish Folk Tunes." The audience responded to her talk warmly rather than with skepticism. Traditionally, a classical concert is a formal, impersonal communion with composers - the performers are in a way incidental. Ideally, they interpret the music in an original fashion, but that is just the greasing on the pan. For the performer, the concert should be a selfless enterprise - so does talking to an audience break that barrier between composer and listener? Introducing a work to an audience also assumes the audience is uninformed, even though there are program notes that can inform - silently. As sweetly as Julia Bruskin spoke, the talk was a faux pas.

At times during the Debussy, the performers were unsure of themselves. The ensemble failed to build up to major climaxes, too concerned with small-scale dynamic contrast. Kwong occasionally tripped on relatively simple lines. Perhaps they were anticipating the difficulty of the Martin and Arensky. By contrast, the Frank Martin was technically solid yet at times unexpressive. Although Martin wrote the first movement to express a powerful drive, he also includes passages of heartbreaking harmonic expressivity. Perhaps the Claremont considered Frank Martin "modern" music, and therefore colorless. In general, they let this superbly well-written work speak for itself, rather than try to make their stamp on it.

Small technical problems stood out in the Arensky, such as the pianist's difficulty in playing the repeated 32nd notes in the scherzo. The opening line of the first movement, traded between cello and violin, strangely overworked and lacked some coherence. The third movement, "Elegy," was emotionally effective due to the score's lack of overt technical obstacles, while during the finale, as with the Debussy, the group struggled to bring a variety of dynamics to the fervor.

The Arensky trio was the most "mainstream" composition they played. It seems that every professional piano trio would have to pay attention to the Russian trio repertoire, since two of the three greatest piano trios that come to mind have Russian origins - the massive Tchaikovsky trio and Shostakovich's second trio. (Beethoven's "Archduke" trio would be the third.) If the Arensky had been paired with either of these Russian trios, the evening's program might have had a theme. The Shostakovich trio, which uses Jewish folk tunes in the first and fourth movements, would have matched Martin's folk fusion.

As an encore, the trio played the first movement of Schoenfeld's jazzy "CafÈ Music." The group made the transition from heated, heavy Arensky to Schoenfeld's inadvertent ode to Django Rheinhardt smoothly. They played effectively enough to get some jazz-loving audience member to his feet by the final chord.

The star of the evening was undoubtedly cellist Julia Bruskin. Her playing stood out in the group, for better or worse, due to her expression and clean intonation. Having spoken for the group in introducing the Martin, she seemed to be the group's "chief," if there was one.

Despite the inconsistent playing and the mismatched program, the Claremont trio sounds like a promising chamber ensemble, playing exciting repertoire and at least drawing large crowds to the concert hall. Who cares if this is achieved through questionable advertising?

The Claremont Trio has recorded two albums, one of Shostakovich and Arensky trios, the other of Mendelsso hn's op. 49 and op. 66 trios - complete with sultry cover photos. Both recordings can be found on iTunes.