philosophie.

Isserlis/Adès/Marwood concert@Carnegie

This concert proved to be such an overwhelming inspiration! I absolutely enjoyed every bit of it.

I really wanted to attend this concert when I saw that Steven Isserlis was coming, and they would be performing the Ravel piano trio among others – and I knew then and there I could not miss this concert. Of course, Poulenc cello sonata and Janácek violin sonata were pieces I would like to hear live at a concert as well. Also on the programme were Liszt’s own transcription for cello and piano: Romance oubliée and La Lugubre Gondola (which, if I remember correctly, was on the funeral of Wagner). Ending the first half was a US premier of Thomas Adès’s own piece for cello and sonata Lieux retrouvés (on new music, I can almost always say it’s less about how good the piece is, but how great the performers are and how committed they are to bring it alive – that is not to say this piece was not a good piece, because I loved it).

I can’t say I’m a big fan of Janácek, but Anthony Marwood’s interpretation was enjoyable and understandable. (Perhaps it’s just me, but the first time ever I heard him play was him on the violin with his Florestan trio playing Brahms Op.8; and I couldn’t help but to always feel his sound was Brahmsian during this concert.. ). Then, Steven Isserlis came on the stage with that familiar mushroom-looking hair and comical personality (to me, at least). Then, the first note of the Liszt sounded, and I gasped inside – I had forgotten how beautifully he plays. He is a musician that I very much admire because of his extremely lively imagination in music as well as meticulous  attitude when it comes to working out the very details of sound/phrase/etc (I still remember when I played with my violinist a year ago for him, he worked forever on the beginning of the Brahms G+ violin sonata). Also, he seems to be an advocate of the good taste in non-vibrato (thank goodness there’s a string player who doesn’t vibrate every note!) – and when he does that, the music seems to just soar.

Poulenc was of course extremely enjoyable. But I wanted to say more about the Ravel trio. This is a piece I can’t even start thinking about – for it brings so much feelings and sounds, memories and ideals that even thinking about the piece played in my head would take me already into another world. I must say, the first movement was slightly faster than what I would prefer, and I also wish that the piano would provide more “wash of sound” sometimes for the strings. Other than that, it was dazzling – in the fourth movement I saw magpies chirping and flying about in the sky, there’s something I can almost ascertain to say is Chinese.

A side-remark: the piano was of course on full-stick.

I walked out of Carnegie Hall, looked to my left, there was the Times Square lighting up the night into a day. It was just a beautiful, warm spring night in New York City. I walked home with so much inspiring and love.