Julie does Justice to Grieg

The DeKalb Symphony, under Music Director Fyodor Cherniavsky, began their most recent concert with the Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin, by Wagner.  It is a short piece and the orchestra seemed to have a few warming up problems, but it ended up to be quite a nice performance.   This was followed by Brahms Symphony No. 2. Cherniavsky led a stirring interpretation and the orchestra was very good, albeit a bit thin sounding for the rich sonorities of Brahms.  The final work was Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor with the luminous Julie Coucheron.  She gave a nearly note-perfect performance that demonstrated her deep commitment to her fellow-countryman Grieg.  She effectively presented the work's dynamics, helping to increase the power of the music.  Her performance was the equal of anything heard from major soloists in Atlanta's Symphony Hall. One can only hope that her solo concert career continues to grow.

Ms. Coucheron performed on a Bechstein grand. Its sound is much tighter than the usual Steinway concert grand, which seemed to make the high end more clear but tended to be less full and vibrant in the low end.

The only disappointment in the concert was the sound of the air handling equipment in the Marvin Cole Auditorium of Georgia State University's Clarkston Campus.  It provided an unwelcome dull noise that occasionally distracted from an otherwise fine evening of music.

Ladies in Red....

Remember that song by Chris DeBurgh?  Never mind...

The School of Music at Kennesaw (GA) State University sponsored a recital with the clever title of "Dueling Duos."  It featured, in various combinations, the talents of David and Julie Coucheron and Michael and Helen Kim.  The first piece, played by Ms. Coucheron and Mr. Kim, was the Brahms Hungarian Dances for Piano Four-Hands, Nos. 5 and 6.  Hearing this piece in the piano version spotlighted the humor in the music.  Brahms was said to have a great sense of humor, so it was fitting.  This performance seemed to suffer a bit from warm-up problems.  There were some uneven tempos between the two performers that gave the piece a uncoordinated feeling.

The second piece was Wieniawski's Etude Caprice for 2 violins, op. 18, no 1 by Mr. C and Ms. K. This work includes some great playing on the G string, which Mr C played quit nicely with no hint of growl.  Ms. K's bowings and fingerings were both musically and technically brilliant.  AMC has never heard her sound so focused and inspired.

The third piece featured the Coucheron's playing their fellow country man Edward Grieg's Sonata No. 3 in C minor.  Grieg is one of those composers that has a few big concert hall hits (the piano concerto, the music from Peer Gynt, and the Holberg Suite), but otherwise doesn't really get much attention. He wrote brilliantly romantic music loaded with melody.  True for this sonata too.  It is replete with allusions to water, to folk dance, and to nature.  There are few duos who played together as well as these siblings.  David has a really big tone, and Julie is more than a sympathetic accompanist. She never stoops to playing "second fiddle" (Ugh!).  Their playing together is balanced and there is total alignment in their interpretation and balance. When they play together, there is only great technical skill and incredible artistry.

The next piece was Cesar Franck's Sonata in A Major by the Kim's. Franck is one of those composers that we don't hear a lot of either, but mostly for good reason. Even in his time he was considered conservative and uninspiring.  His Symphony in D Minor is heard occasionally today and it is rather turgid  because Franck, an organist, tried to turn the symphony into an organ.  However, this sonata provides sharp contrast to that overblown symphony  Likely it is because it is difficult to make two instruments sound like a large church organ.  The first movement in particular is surprising.  It almost sounds like a very early impressionist work, with its lean melody and structure.  The three other movements are very rooted in romantic passions.  The Kims share the same simpatico that the C's have.  Their playing was technically top-notch, and musically on target.

The final work was Sarasate's Navarra for 2 violins performed by Mr. and Ms. C and Ms. K.  Sarasate is known for his technically challenging compositions for violin, in order to show the stuff of the violist.  Both of these very talented artists were absolutely phenomenal.  Their left hand fingers were flying across their respective finger boards and their right hands were bowing and bouncing those bows just as Sarasate hoped.  AMC has hear Mr. C and Ms. K play many times.  Neither sounded better or were more impressive.  Ms. C did her usual solid piano work that perfectly complemented the two violins.  Mr. K was the page turner, and the pride on his face in reaction to the violin playing was wonderful!

Ms. C and Ms. K were both dressed in red, hence the reference at the beginning.  And somehow they managed to choose nearly the same shade of red.!

A final note- parking at Kennesaw State was abysmal, and signage was lacking.   

A Bouquet for Spring...

When pianists Julie Coucheron and Elizabeth Pridgen are scheduled to perform together, one can expect roses and this past Sunday was no exception.  They played together in a Georgian-Chamber Players Concert at Atlanta's Peachtree Presbyterian church.

The program included Mozart's Sonata in D major for Piano Duet.  This piece was written when Mozart was 16 years old.  It is a short pleasant piece that lacks some of the Baroque-inspired ornamentation and fussiness that characterized pieces from Mozart's later years.  The duo pianists played with elan and technical strength.

An arrangement of Rachmaninov's Vocalise was the second work.  For what sounds like a fairly simple work presented many technical difficulties for the pianists.  There hands had to invade each other's space, which with lesser pianists, could have been a disaster.  At some point, one of the pianist's fingers were playing the white keys while the other was playing the immediately adjacent black keys.  In spite of the complexity, the gorgeous Vocalise melodies came through wonderfully.

This was followed by Ravel's original dual piano version of the La Valse. AMC likes this version of the work because it can be lighter and more transparent that the orchestrated version.  It takes a special conductor who can make the heavy orchestration sound light and dance-like (Ormandy could!).  Coucheron and Pridgen had no problem with getting this music just right.  Again their technical skills were evident, but they just didn't play the notes- they played the music.

The final work of the recital was Brahms Quintet in B minor for Clarinet and String quartet, played by Laura Ardan, David Coucheron, Ji in Yang, Reid Harris, and Christopher Rex.  Given that all of the performers, save Ms. Yang, are principals with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, one can anticipate technical skill as well as great musicality.  This performance delivered the goods, highlighting the beautiful melodies and harmonies of Brahms.  There was one errant squawk from Ms. Ardan's clarinet,  which was astounding given that she plays impeccably.  But that was not enough to derail the performance.

AMC's only regret was that there were not more people in attendance.  The crowd seemed to number maybe 75 to 100.  Atlanta is fortunate to have two premier chamber music ensembles (the Georgian Chamber Players and the Atlanta Chamber Players) and those who love music with small ensembles in intimate spaces should not miss either.

An acoustical nightmare

The Georgian Chamber Players presented a concert titled “Aus Wien” on January 28, 2012 at the Trinity Presbyterian Church in Atlanta.  The program included:

Schubert:  Quartettsatz in C Minor, D. 7-3

Beethoven:  Grosse Fuge in B-Flat Major, Op. 133

Brahms: Quintet in F Minor for Piano and String Quarter, Op. 34

The Brahms piece featured Julie Coucheron on the piano.

This concert was a miss, not even a near miss.  The acoustics in the Trinity auditorium are flat, causing the sound to be thin and lacking in bass.  This is echo but little reverberation.  This concert was a study in how bad acoustics can torpedo a performance. 

The Beethoven was performed disappointingly.  There were moments with major intonation problems and poor violin bowing, leading to an occasional screech.  This was a disappointment given that this group includes the Principals of the violin, cello, and viola sections of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. As much as Christopher Rex is a great cellist, his tone always seems mild and is often lost in overall soundscape.

Last year I heard David and Julie Coucheron play at Spivey Hall.  They were magnificent, and Spivey’s acoustics do a great job of supporting a great performance.  Unfortunately, this time the Brahms quintet was a less than ideal.  It’s not that the playing was bad, but the sound was blurred and harsh.  This is certainly not the players fault, but nevertheless the performance suffered as a result. 

Alas, not every concert can be great and failures can be the result of many things.  As much as anything, the poor acoustics of the venue let down the Georgian Chamber Players.