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The Friends of Chamber Music continued its 2010–11 chamber music series Friday evening with a marvelous program of violin and piano sonatas performed by two luminaries of the chamber music world. Cynthia Siebert, President of The Friends of Chamber Music, gave a warm introduction to violinist Pinchas Zukerman and pianist Yefim Bronfman, calling them by their nicknames, “Pinky” and “Fima.”

 The evening’s well-paced program opened with Mozart’s Sonata for Violin and Piano in B-flat Major, K. 454. The Folly Theater’s near-capacity audience seemed captivated by Zukerman and Bronfman’s masterful presentation of the first movement’s stately opening theme. Indeed, the duo created an excellent balance of forces. Bronfman’s consummate piano-playing was the perfect accompaniment to Zukerman’s very fine intonation and expressive playing. Bronfman brought Mozartian warmth to the sound, stepping back here and there to allow Zukerman to shine. The work’s many shared sixteenth-notes runs were lovely, perfectly paired and impeccably tuned.

The second movement was finely paced with Zukerman offering just the right amount of vibrato. Throughout the recital, it was clear that these were two perfectly attuned players, who rarely needed to make eye contact. At one point, Zukerman turned away from his music stand and the piano altogether, surveying his audience as he played. Briefly, he took on the air of a strolling violinist – likely the best strolling violinist you could ever expect to hear! A warm smile enlivened the face of Zukerman as the audience broke into applause at the conclusion of the work.

The duo followed Mozart’s quintessential Classical sonata with Beethoven’s “Spring” Sonata, Op. 24 in F Major, which inhabited a space somewhere between the Classical and Romantic aesthetics. I appreciated the stylistic shift in both players for this piece. A darker, less saccharine tone emanated from the Bronfman’s piano while Zukerman’s violin lent a more insistent vibrato to the notes in the extreme registers of the piece. Zukerman and Bronfman communicated the vivid emotional nature of the Beethoven. Zukerman dug into the climax of the first movement so much as to break several bow hairs. I was thrilled to see this kind of unreserved, fiery playing in a chamber concert. It brought to mind the unabashed energy pop performers bring to the instrument as well as anecdotes of Beethoven’s propensity for breaking the strings and sometimes even the wooden frames of his pianofortes.

In the second movement, I initially felt that the tempo was a fraction too slow for the unadorned material. Later, Beethoven’s filigree and ornamentation of the material worked sublimely at the performer’s chosen pace. Perhaps then, these lagging moments were worth the slower pace for the subsequent beautifully embellished gestures of the movement.

In the Scherzo, the timing of the violin’s displaced echo of piano’s syncopated motive seemed somewhat rhythmically unsettled. The fourth movement built up a considerable amount of energy, finishing with a powerful ending from both performers, with Bronfman nearly wresting the chord from the keyboard.

Zukerman traded his violin for his viola when he and Bronfman resumed the stage after intermission for their last selection, Brahms’ Sonata in E-flat Major for Viola and Piano, Op. 120, No. 2. Besides continuing the program’s journey from quintessential Classical through to high Romanticism, the Brahms sonata also brought continuity to the program with its key-center. The work’s tonal center of E-flat was situated right next to the keys of the proceeding works, B-flat and F, on the Circle of Fifths – a brilliant, yet unforced programming decision on the part of Zukerman and Bronfman.

Bronfman occupied a more starring role in the Brahms, reveling in the dense Romanticism of the piano part. Though certainly a consummate and expressive violist, I found myself longing for more of Zukerman’s pristine violin playing. Though not out of tune, there were brief moments here where I felt Zukerman’s pitch was uncentered. I also wished he had been able to draw a brighter tenor sound from instrument at times rather than the dark alto that his tone occupied.

The duo was greeted with a warm standing ovation following their performance. A colleague of mine even noticed Ms. Siebert, The Friends of Chamber Music President, among those standing. I was told this speaks very highly of the artistry displayed by Zukerman and Bronfman as it is a rare treat to see Ms. Siebert offer this level of acclaim and approval.

REVIEW:
The Friends of Chamber Music
Pinchas Zukerman, violin/viola, and Yefim Bronfman, piano
Friday, November 19, 2010
Folly Theater
300 W 12th St, Kansas City, MO
For more information visit http://www.chambermusic.org

Top Photo: Pinchas Zukerman

By Topher Levin

Classical Editor and Contributor

Christopher (Topher) Levin is a composer, pianist, music theorist, and music blogger based in Kansas City, MO. His compositions have been performed at music festivals across the US and in Europe. He has spent two summers in Paris, France studying music at the Ecole Normale de Musique through the EAMA program. His trio for clarinet, piano, and percussion is published in the SCI Journal of Scores.

Topher holds degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (M.M.) in music theory and (M.M.) in composition and from James Madison University in Virginia (B.M.) in composition. Primary composition teachers have included John S. Hilliard, Paul Rudy, Zhou Long, James Mobberley, Chen Yi, Claude Baker, Narcis Bonet, Michel Merlet, and João Pedro Oliveira. His piano teachers have included Patricia Brady and Karen Kushner. Topher maintains a piano studio of 22 students.

Having recently completed a Master's thesis on the beautiful complexities of Chinary Ung's trio, Spiral I, Topher turned his writing attention to the more informal blogging medium. He has taken to it quite well, sharing posts on strange and wonderful music and art found across the web with a modest but growing number of blog followers. He looks forward to writing for KCM and sharing with its readers the stories of all the amazing musicians performing in Kansas City.