By snoadmin
Chamber music has been around since the 16th century, but the modern forms of instruments toward the end of the Baroque allowed for complicated music to be played beautifully. Monday night’s string chamber concert put together by the Bob Cole Conservatory featured a duo of strings with a piano. Four groups played music that varied from the late 18th to 20th centuries.
The first piece was Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Trio in D major, Op 70, No 1 ‘Ghost.'” This work featured Nicolette can den Bogerd on violin, Callie Galvez on cello and Sarah Chang on piano. At first, the impression was that of typical Beethoven. However, the musicians blended well, and the tambor of all three facilitated the fusion. Dynamics and phrasing were well done and it was wrapped up nicely with beautiful vibrato from the strings. The song was almost sarcastically dark and followed enjoyable classical progressions.
From the beginning of the Victorian Era, the next group played Ludwig von Mendelssohn’s “Trio in D minor OP. 49.” This piece featured violinist Lina Van, Cellist Michele Packman and Pianist Yuko Shiina. The trio performed the Mendelssohn piece at a professional level, playing two movements from it: “Molto allegro ed agitiato” and “Scherzo: Allegro vivace.”
It opened with a call-and-answer section with the cello and violin, then the piano joined for a beautifully dark melody that encompassed most of the “Molto Allegro.” Because of this, the piece had a hauntingly beautiful tone and mood. The second movement was light, yet powerful and included moments of a playful mood by plucking the string instruments.
A brief intermission followed the Mendelssohn piece. The next violin-cello trio was performed by Robert Johnstone, Callie Calvez, and Brandon Faber, respectively. The Chopin “Trio in G Minor, Op.8” was a comical play between the piano and strings. As far as style was concerned, it contrasted with the “Allegro con fuoco,” which elicited a darker mood. The piece had a pleasurable motif played by Faber and was almost agitating at times because of how brilliant the composition was.
Finally, a more modern piece by Aram Khachaturian: Trio for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano (1932) was performed. Pianist Taylor Chan set up the piece with brilliant piano and was followed by an interesting mix of strings and woodwind. The piece had three movements — Andante, Allegro, and Moderato. Because of the composition and instrumentation, it sounded almost like a group improvisation from Armenia.
The second movement featured a very technical musical motif. Violinist Kiyoe Matsuura dug into her strings for a very heavy beat. Finally, Hiroshi Ikeda, clarinetist, opened the Moderato with an entertaining riff and Chan followed suit. Eventually, all three played, creating an emotional end to the evening’s concert.
As far as the Bob Cole Conservatory is concerned, there is a myriad of talented musicians present at Cal State Long Beach. This semester’s string chamber concert was no exception to their high standards.
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