Richardson Auditorium, Princeton, NJ. Balcony (Left front, free).
The concert started at 7:30 pm and concluded at 9:43 pm. Notice the second clarinet on the floor.
Program
Trio in E-flat major, K. 498 "Kegelstatt" (1786) by Mozart (1756-91).
Marchenerzahlungen for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano, Op. 132 (1853) by R. Schumann (1810-56).
Concertpiece for Viola and Piano (1906) by Enescu (1881-1955).
Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, FP 184) (1962) by Poulenc (1899-1963).
Selections from Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano, Op. 83 (1908) by Bruch (1838-1920).
I don't recall ever listening to so much music where the instruments were the viola, the clarinet, and the piano. Tonight we had about an hour of it. The concert lasted over 2 hours, counting the introductions and the intermission. A duet each of viola/piano and clarinet/piano were also included in the program.
Remarks were made - mostly by Fleming, who is the Founding Artistic Director of the ensemble - about each of the pieces. What follows is my recollection of what was said about each piece, "Kegelstatt" is the game of bowling, Mozart supposedly wrote the piece during the breaks in the game. By the time he wrote the trio on today's program, Robert Schumann was already suffering from mental issues - he would attempt suicide in 1854. Evidently much of his music written during this time was "chaotic" (not sure what word Fleming used); Marchenerzahlungen was an exception. The title means "fairy tale narratives." I forget the descriptions of the Enescu (other than his contemporaries) piece. Poulenc wrote the clarinet/piano sonata in memory of a friend, the first movement is sadness, the second movement is more sadness, the last is "life goes on." Poulenc died before he could premiere the piece with Benny Goodman. (Spielberger didn't say the "substitute" pianist was Leonard Bernstein.) Fleming (jokingly) said Burch should have died younger, as then he wouldn't have to contend with all the new composition methods in the early 20th century (12-tone being a prominent one). Nonetheless Bruch stayed with classical romanticism and left behind some popular works. The last movement in the program (VII. Allegro vivace, ma non troppo) was selected so the trio could finish with a flourish - fair enough.
It was overall a very enjoyable evening. Despite the heavy rains, attendance was good. The applauses were also enthusiastic, deservedly so. For me it's a chance to really listen to the viola, which somehow is an instrument I have trouble picking up in any ensemble. That was less so today, but some passages still proved elusive. In the Bruch Moderato (VIII) there are a couple of passages the clarinet and the viola played in unison, yet I had to strain to pick out the viola line. The unspoken hero/workhorse was of course the piano. Not only were the pieces a challenge, the pianist didn't get any breaks.
The Manhattan Chamber Players is a "collective" of over 20 musicians (per their website). We attended a concert in 2022 where the instrumentalists were more traditional: 3 strings plus piano. Interestingly, Spielberger isn't listed in their roster.
There were four concerts in this year's Princeton University Summer Chamber Concerts series. Our schedule allowed us to attend only the July 11 and July 14 concerts. The July 11 concert was canceled (last minute) because of weather in Chicago causing many flights to be canceled, and the cello quartet artists couldn't find 8 seats (for cellos as well) after their flight was canceled. Indeed today's concert could have been canceled as well - a weather emergency was issued for the entire state in the evening. We decided to stick with major roadways on our way back, with my bad eyesight, winding roads through unknown terrain, who knows what would have happened had I taken the route suggested by Google.
At Princeton they spell it "cancelled."
All in all a nice evening, even though both Anne and I got our shoes wet stepping into (unavoidable) puddles.
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