State Theatre,
New Brunswick, NJ. Balcony (Seat P107,
$19.)
Program
Sonata No. 4 in
A minor, Op. 23 by Beethoven (1770-1827).
Sonata No. 1 in
F Major, Op. 8 by Grieg (1843-1907).
Sonata No.1 in G
Major, Op. 78 by Brahms (1833-1897).
Rhapsody No. 1,
Sz. 87 by Bartok (1881-1945).
We bought these
tickets via Amazon Local, at $19 each, nothing could possibly go wrong. And nothing did. Actually this turned out to be a very enjoyable
event, even though our seats, at about 110 feet away per the theatre’s seating
chart, were a bit far from the stage. When
we picked up at “will call,” we were actually offered upgraded seats for $15
each but decided against it. I would gladly
have paid $34 per seat if they had been available at the time of purchase;
strange, this human psychology. In any
case, I am glad the hall was reasonably full.
By the large
Bell produced a very pleasant sound, and his cooperation with the pianist was
excellent. As a violin student, I played
several of Beethoven’s violin sonatas and worked hard at the Brahms sonata for
an examination. My teacher decided to
skip over Beethoven’s fourth, so it was a fresh piece. Per the Program Notes, Grieg’s sonata is
rarely performed nowadays. I really
enjoyed it, and wonder what moved artists away from the piece – it sounded
elegant, reasonably complex, and pleasant.
The Bartok
Rhapsody was the most technically challenging piece. The two movements lassu (slow) and friss
(fast) are based on Hungarian folk tunes.
However, here Bell and Haywood may have met their match technically; I
was so worried about their making the notes that I didn’t catch much of the
melodies the piece is based on. This
reminds me of the Repin recital where he had trouble with Ravel’s Tzigane.
During my final
year of high school I took a certificate exam offered by the Trinity School of
Music. I spent countless hours on the
Brahms sonata which was on the syllabus, and (glad to report) passed. Of course I listened to multiple recordings
of the piece, and eventually formed an opinion on how it should be performed. Bell didn’t quite do the piece the way I did,
but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
(Disclaimer: that was more than 40 years ago, and I can’t play it the
way I did.)
A violin sonata
is supposed to be a co-operation between the violin and the piano. My experience with Beethoven and Brahms is
indeed they are. Not today, not most of
the time anyway. Bell just dominated the
show, which somewhat detracted from the musical aspects of the program. I didn’t mind; I don’t think much of the
audience did either. This audience also
couldn’t help itself from applauding after each movement.
For
completeness, here are the movements of the different sonatas: Beethoven –
Presto; Andante scherzoso, piu Allegretto; Allegro molto; Grieg – Allegro con
brio; Allegretto quasi andantino; Allegro molto vivace; Brahms – Vivace, ma non
troppo; Adagio, Allegro molto moderato.
For encore the
pair played Chopin’s Nocturne in C# minor, and a Brahms Hungarian Dance.
We spent most of
the day with Ellie and family in Philadelphia, leaving for New Brunswick after
an early dinner. The free off-street
parking was an added bonus.
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