Manhattan Chamber Players. July 8, 2022.

Richardson Auditorium, Princeton University.  Balcony (Center, Row 1, free).

Piano Quartet in E flat major, K.493 by Mozart (1756-1791).

Serenade in C Major for string trio, Op. 10 by Ernst von Dohnanyi (1877-1960).

Piano Quartet in E flat Major, Op. 47 by Schumann (1810-1856).

Artists

Brendan Speltz, violin; Luke Fleming, viola; David Fung piano; Brook Speltz, cello.

This is the third concert in the Princeton Summer Chamber Concert Series, and the second one we attended.  The Manhattan Chamber Players (MCP) were formed in 2015 by the current music director Luke Fleming.  On their website MCP lists 23 artists, and for tonight's concert we got to see four of them.

This was my first encounter with all three pieces, from well-known composers.

For me the concert didn't start all that great.  Mozart is usually easy to listen to, fun to analyze, or both.  Only occasional "complaint" I have is how some passages get repeated too often.  My reactions while the concert was going on were: Where are all the repeated notes?  How are the movements structured? Where is the lightness?  The crispness?  And worst of all: When is it going to end?  How do I stay awake?  (I did feel very tired in the afternoon.)

The movements of the Quartet are: Allegro, Larghetto, and Allegretto.

It was a good thing I stayed awake, because I really enjoyed the next two compositions on the program.  In that I have Fleming to thank: he gave a brief description of the MCP group, how the pandemic affected the scheduling of this event, and talked a bit about the Dohnanyi piece, and especially how the third movement is a combination of three virtuosic parts that come together well.

The five movements are: Marcia: Allegro; Romanza: Adagio non troppo; Scherzo: Vivace; Tema con variazioni: Andante con moto; and Rondo (Finale): Allegro vivace.

I made a few remarks to myself during the performance, and have probably forgotten a few by now (writing this entry the following day).  Indeed the piece looked and sounded difficult.  For the third movement, if one focused on a specific instrument, one would appreciate how difficult the part was.  However, the three lines made up a very coherent movement, and it was natural to just listen to the total sound rather than try to pick out the individual lines.  I couldn't make out the theme, and thus not the variations, for the fourth movement; and had similar difficulty with the ABABA form for the Rondo.  No matter, it was a great performance of an interesting composition.

Whenever I see a movement called "Andante cantabile" in a chamber piece, I think of the one in Tchaikovsky's string quartet.  It wasn't Tchaikovsky, but as with the rest of the quartet, a lovely movement nonetheless.  The four movements are: I.  Sostenuto assai - Allegro ma non troppo; II. Scherzo.  Molto vivace - Trio I, Trio II; III. Andante cantabile; IV.  Finale: Vivace.

In addition to David and Vivien, CS and Shirley were also at this concert.  We had a good time reminescing about our long friendship of over 40 years, and enjoyed a simple dinner at Lan Ramen before the concert.

Old friends enjoying dinner at Lan Ramen.

It was raining quite heavily in the Princeton/West Windsor area on our way back, with visibility down to perhaps yards in some stretches.  Too bad the heavy downpour didn't hit our area; we could use the rain.