Aletheia Piano Trio dazzles at Friends of Chamber Music opener
The musicians demonstrated their deep understanding of various styles.
Written by By Susan L. Pena
It's no secret that we're in the midst of a chamber music renaissance in this country, with young, vibrant ensembles popping up everywhere.
One of the best of them, it turns out, is the Aletheia Piano Trio, which opened the Friends of Chamber Music series Friday night at the WCR Center for the Arts. Violinist Francesca dePasquale, who gave a brilliant recital for the series last April, returned with cellist Juliette Herlin and pianist Fei-Fei Dong for an astonishing evening of music.
These three strong, passionate women showed their deep understanding of various styles and their abundant skills. Like all the best musicians, they don't merely play the music - they are the music.
The program they chose featured youthful works by Dmitri Shostakovich, who was 17 when he wrote his one-movement Piano Trio No. 1 in C minor, Op. 8 ("Poeme"); and Johannes Brahms, who was 20 when he wrote his Piano Trio in B Major, coincidentally also catalogued as Op. 8 No. 1.
They opened with Mozart's sunny Piano Trio in G Major, K. 496, in which Dong played light, pearly runs that brought out the best in the superb Steinway in the hall, and as the others joined in, it was immediately evident that this ensemble is special.
Their joy and camaraderie shone through, and their energy and expressivity are simply dazzling.
Instead of another full trio, they chose two one-movement works that are seldom performed, beginning with Franz Schubert's "Notturno" in E-flat Major, Op. 148, which was originally meant for his Piano Trio in B-flat Major.
The first theme, an operatically lovely violin and cello duet over slow piano chords, breaks into a grand, heroic second theme; both have a double dotted rhythm that ties them together. It simmers down and returns to the first theme - a simple structure, but so eloquent. Dong's trills sounded like a nightingale's song.
Shostakovich's Trio, which was dedicated to his true love at the time, implied that that relationship must have been pretty tumultuous (it didn't last).
Slow and intensely Romantic sections give way to impetuous outbursts, played in this performance with ultimate histrionics. Herlin's yearning cello solo was worthy of Romeo, and all three gave an intense reading of this piece, packed with ideas and emotions.
They concluded with the Brahms Trio, which of course is the most Romantic piece imaginable, and all three musicians gave and gave, holding nothing back, producing a deeply satisfying experience of this gorgeous, well-loved trio.
After the rhapsodic first movement, they captured the nocturnal mystery of the Scherzo, with its galloping horses and hunting horns, then danced the trio and returned to the hunt, making these so vivid it was like watching a movie.
In the Adagio, they created stillness and a sense of overwhelming sorrow, and their finale was full of power and freely emotive playing.
https://www.readingeagle.com/life/article/review-aletheia-piano-trio-dazzles-at-friends-of-chamber-music-series-opener