Music-Making Of the Highest Order
Although some listeners may be partial to Béla Bartók's "Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra" or Alban Berg's Piano Sonata, no composer in history created a more profound Opus No. 1 than Ludwig van Beethoven, whose set of three trios for Violin, Cello, and Piano immediately established him as the standard-bearer for a new direction. This trio of trios was performed Sunday at the 92nd Street Y by the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, as the first of three concerts in the same day offering at least one of the iterations of the "complete" works for their particular combination of instruments.
The Opus One trios were written between 1794 and 1795, and were most likely played for Haydn at Prince Karl Lichnowsky's palace before publication. Each is a mature work, hardly the first effort in the genre for the young Beethoven, with various predecessors relegated to the "without opus" status as indicated by the abbreviation "WoO" in the catalogue. KLR did a fine job of offering each piece in a slightly different style, creating a variety of moods without ever sacrificing solid, competent musicianship.
The E flat major was notable for the strong but delicate touch of pianist Joseph Kalichstein. He has the enviable ability to play quietly but forcefully and can then turn this formula on its head, producing passages that are loud but gentle. He led this performance as a pianist should, introducing phrasing decisions that were confident and precise. Violinist Jaime Laredo and cellist Sharon Robinson, who are husband and wife, elaborated on these phrases with the most loving of vibrato. As usual, the three were always pleasantly in sync; they even breathe together.
Haydn cautioned against including the C minor — known as the No. 3 but performed second this day — in Beethoven's maiden publication, predicting quite correctly that it was not really suitable for home use and therefore doomed to less-than-commercial success. The piano part alone would have been enough to give a late 18th-century lady the vapors, and the work as a whole is by far the Sturmiest und Drangiest of the lot. But Beethoven refused to substitute one of his older, more tender creations, knowing in his heart of hearts that this type of intense music was both his and the public's future. Although his Piano Concerto No. 3 is often considered the first piece of "modern" music, a case could be made for this chamber work that predates that concerto by six years.
KLR certainly spun a web filled with dramatic angst in this performance, with even the minuet sounding strangely foreboding. Technically, this was a superb effort, with Mr. Kalichstein's initial statement of the chorale-like opening of the Andante cantabile standing out in the mind's ear. Very occasionally a wrong note was struck, but these isolated incidents paled against the sumptuously blended sound of the threesome.
After intermission, the G major was all about delicacy and refinement. Seldom have I heard the Largo con espressione caressed so lovingly. This is German music with a nod to the Italian, the spirit of Boccherini, perhaps channeled through Haydn, in attendance. It is difficult to overstate the effect of the sound of these performers, Mr. Laredo creamy and lyrical, Ms. Robinson zaftig and throbbing. This was musicmaking of a very high order, placing Beethoven, even at the beginning of his remarkable career, on a somewhat lonely plain high above all others.
I have heard KLR many, many times in the last 30 years, and I have never experienced a bad concert. The group is a marvel of consistency in the decidedly inconsistent world of classical performance, and it ought to be celebrated ecstatically for that.
