A Night in the Chamber
Coleman, Prokofiev, and Mendelssohn Tear the Roof Off
“The Music Academy.” This definite article and two modest nouns scarcely hint at what’s crouching in the woods near Butterfly Beach. My ex-girlfriend (or “wife” in the common parlance) and I attended the third Chamber Night event at the Music Academy’s Lehmann Hall on an otherwise mellow Wednesday evening. Part of the Music Academy’s annual Summer Festival, the implicit promise was an evening of exacting technical performance of pieces by Sergei Prokofiev, Felix Mendelssohn, and Valerie Coleman – a Russian modernist, a doomed late Romantic German, and a revered, globe-hopping flutist/composer from Louisville. This curiously mixed bag of fine sonic art in fact presented as a stunning, singular burst of joy, Lehmann’s cozy, acoustically pristine parlor the perfect setting for an evening of immersive marvel, the dusky blue Pacific just glimpsable through a window behind the bandstand.
Coleman’s piece opened. Following flutist Jarrett May’s charming introduction, “Red Clay & Mississippi Delta” seamlessly achieved the implausible, marrying classical, blues, and a liberal seasoning of jazz over the course of a variously raucous and melodious five-plus minutes. Composer Coleman is herself flutist/founder – in 1997 – of globally celebrated quintet, Imani Winds, and that ensemble’s reputation for pushing boundaries is reflected in Coleman’s “Red Clay.”May’slyrical flute, Kara Poling’s oboe, Micah Northam’s horn, Sara Bobrow’s bassoon, and Triniti Rives’ wailing clarinet worked in miraculous synchrony, the sprightly score seeming at times to pirouette formlessly away in woodland sunlight; only to have the musicians stop on a dime and – as one apparent mind – strike off in a new direction. That these amazing players are students is nearly mind boggling.
Prokofiev’s “Quintet in G minor, Op. 39” was a journey over six distinct movements. Some of Prokofiev’s more modernist fare can be said to employ patience-testing harmonic innovations, described by violist Joshua Kail in his soft-spoken intro as “…difficult for us to play as it may be for you to listen to”; a good-natured warning to which the audience responded with appreciative laughter. The effect, though, was transforming – the stridency of the piece colored and softened by the visibly passionate immersion of these incredible Music Academy fellows in their art. Kail on viola was joined by Eder Rivera, oboe; Besnik Abrashi, clarinet; Hajung Cho, violin; and Ruth Christopher, whose majestic double bass would periodically cut through the modernist tempest with deep, clarion, bowed notes as suddenly distinct and stirring as a fog horn’s promise of home.
Alexander Wu’s very personal intro to Mendelssohn’s “Piano Trio #1 in D minor, Op. 49” brought stinging tears to the eyes, reminding this listener that the musical pedagogy in evidence is at one with the heart-powered family histories that have united these young masters in Lehmann Hall this evening. Mendelssohn’s piece, variously mellifluous and dense, saw Mr. Wu swinging his head around to fleetingly grin at his two colleagues – Steven Song on violin (whose emotive concentration missed most of Wu’s delighted attempts at communication), and Szuyu Su on meticulous grand piano, her racing hands at times producing a silvery fusillade of notes as luminous and happy-making as sea spray. Mr. Wu’s occasional earnest glimpses skyward during the performance added another affecting hint of deep personal backstory to the performance. The piece’s triumphant closing barely preceded the spontaneous explosion of applause and shouting that followed.
Don’t miss the next opportunity to be part of the magic. On Wednesday, July 26, the Summer Festival Chamber Series will feature Ernő Dohnányi’s “Sextet in C Major, Op. 37,” and Robert Schumann’s “Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 44.”
May all art continue to flow from the human animal’s imperfect capacity for love and mercy (to paraphrase the great Brian Wilson). As our bewildered culture giddily leaps aboard the Artificial Everything bandwagon, the Music Academy’s impassioned creatives are our common hope for a future where imaginative beauty is still powered by yearning flesh-and-blood.
No pressure, kids.
