Chamber music draws a crowd Four students perform Dohnanyi, Ravel and Brahms

Author: Anne Willborn

Middlebury College is spoiled with an incredible classical concert series, which includes regular performances by the world famous Tokyo and Takacs String Quartets. Distracted by such ensembles, it may be easy to forget the incredible musical talent among our own student body. A student concert on Jan. 19 was a welcome reminder that students have lives outside of their rigorous academic commitments. Promising a night of "Romantic Era Solo and Chamber Music," pianist Andrew Throdahl '09, violinist Ellen Flanagan '09, violist Lindsay Selin '10, and cellist Shelsey Weinstein '10.5 played pieces by Dohnanyi, Ravel and Brahms.

Flanagan, Selin and Weinstein started the concert with the first, second and fifth movements of Dohnanyi's energetic Serenade for String Trio. There were some lovely moments, such as Selin's solo at the beginning of the second movement, but as a whole, the group could have been more cohesive and made a greater effort to match each other's styles. Flanagan's powerful bow arm produced a bold sound that did not always mesh with Weinstein's warm, quiet lyricism. At one point, the group got lost in the fast-moving layers of the final movement, but after a bit of well-disguised fumbling, managed to regain control for a solid finish.

While Ravel could be better characterized as an impressionist than a Romantic era composer, I doubt the audience dwelled on this false advertising during pianist Andrew Throdahl's solo performance of Gaspard de la Nuit. It was, in a word, brilliant. Ravel based each movement on a different Aloysius Bertrand poem, the texts of which were conveniently provided in the concert program. If I still needed to be convinced of the importance of hearing classical music live, Throdahl certainly would have persuaded me with his rendition of this masterpiece. The metronomic repetition of a B flat throughout the second movement can become irritating on a recording, but in the resonant concert hall, it was nothing but mesmerizing. Throdahl's attention to detail was evident from the care with which he brought out the melody above the ethereal waterfall of notes in the first movement, the spine-tingling transition into the third movement of the piece and the clarity with which he captured the light, frenetic energy of the third movement. It was thrilling to hear a student play this notoriously difficult piece of music with such masterful technique and emotion.

Arnold Schoenberg, who developed the 12-tone composition technique, transcribed Brahms' first piano quartet for orchestra because he thought the piano, when played well, always overpowered the strings. The ensemble seemed to have the same opinion, as they made the decision to close the piano lid for the monumental Brahms first piano quartet. Members of the group cited balance issues, but closing the lid did not affect the volume of the instrument as much as it affected the tone. The piano, which came alive in the Ravel, was muffled and pushed into the background during the Brahms.

This issue aside, the group put on a strong performance, improving significantly as they progressed through the four movements. The open communication within the group and unified dynamic gestures made for an engaging performance. The strings were able to display their musical maturity, which was not fully apparent in the Dohnanyi, presumably because rehearsal time was devoted more to the Brahms. The first movement, built on a simple melodic line, culminates into beautifully dramatic climax points, but peters out unexpectedly at the end. The intermezzo, whose main theme symbolized Brahms' love for Clara Schumann, the wife of composer Robert Schumann, was played with appropriate, subtle charm. Still, throughout this movement, the group maintained the broader character of the dense quartet, though the piano's arpeggiated finish was slightly abrupt. The fourth movement, a lively rondo incorporating Hungarian gypsy motifs, is a natural crowd-pleaser, and the ensemble enthusiastically rose to the occasion. The major themes were smoothly passed from the piano, to the violin, to the lower strings, while tempo changes were carried out as a unified group, leaving nobody struggling to fall in line. The Brahms quartet was an outstanding finish to an enjoyable concert.

While the concert was marked by ups and downs, the audience was quick to give the performers a standing ovation at the conclusion of the Brahms. Middlebury audiences are often overeager to stand at classical concerts, to the point where a standing ovation no longer means anything. However, as students at a small school not known for its music program, Throdahl, Flanagan, Selin and Weinstein gave a truly exceptional concert. So, in this case, the standing ovation was well deserved.