A review of the concert on November 9, 2008 by Sharon Brook.
In a refreshing break from its tradition of soloists, the Steinway Society presented a chamber concert featuring The Lee Trio — Melinda on piano, Lisa on violin and Angela on cello. Each of the San Francisco sisters is an accomplished soloist, yet together they created a palpable synergy that charged the small, but appreciative, audience on November 9, 2008.
Honoring Leonard Bernstein’s 90th birthday year, they opened with his Piano Trio of 1936 – 37. Written when he was a third-year student at Harvard, this work reflects his formal training with the American composer Walter Piston, but only hints at his later imaginative rhythmic and tonal forays. The first movement opened with a plaintive lament on the cello, imitated by the violin, then the piano, with fine balance between the instruments. In the ensuing brisk section (“allegro vivace”), the angular theme in the strings was accompanied by a running, filigree accompaniment. The piano then stepped out of the texture with a bass melody. The constant imitation evolved into a frantic buzzing before relaxing into a Coplandesque augmentation of the original theme. The second movement, a kind of bluesy march, started with plucking (“pizzicato”) on the violin and segued into a fiddling hoedown of sorts. The piano part also displayed fancy fingerwork with a fast chordal section. The opening theme of the third movement had a whole tone flavor and created a Debussy-like haze. It was as if Bernstein were testing the waters of tonality. The Allegro that followed was a kind of raucous gypsy dance with lots of syncopations. This movement displayed fine bouncing-bow playing (“spiccato”) on the violin, a warm sound on the cello solo and lots of restraint on the part of the piano.
The Lee Trio then offered a spirited and stylistic performance of Haydn’s Piano Trio in E-flat Major, Hob. XV/29. The first movement is unusual in terms of its form – a theme and variations instead of the usual sonata-form scheme. There are even unusual twists and turns in the variations, illustrating Haydn’s trademark elements of wit and surprise. The statement of the theme was sprightly, with a dry, light touch on the piano. Typical of classical trios, the piano executes the lion’s share of the notes; in fact, the last movement is more like a piano sonata with violin and cello accompaniment. All three instruments, however, captured the ‘brio’ of Haydn in the outer movements. The violin captured the sad, dark quality of the minor variation very well. In the slow movement, the piano elegantly stated the lyrical melody marked “innocentemente” by Haydn. The Lee Trio then dug into the closing movement, an “allemande” (German dance) with gusto. The piano’s strings of fast, running notes sparkled in the overall texture. The boisterous “fortissimo” ending was a harbinger of Beethoven’s scherzos to come.
If the first half of the concert displayed The Lee Trio’s youthful exuberance, the second half showed their musical maturity with their performance of the Schumann Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 63. This long, discursive four-movement work is held together by common thematic material from the first movement (extending to both the third and fourth movements). However, it poses voicing problems due to the thickness of the texture – especially in the piano writing. The three sisters exhibited finesse in projecting prevalent lines throughout, thus clarifying the texture. The opening melancholy theme of the first movement unfolded organically on the violin, with the piano emerging triumphantly out of the texture to state the more upbeat second theme. The pacing by the trio had a fine sense of romantic ebb and flow (“rubato”); it breathed like a fine wine.Their dynamic palette was very wide, also, with many subtle color changes. In the development section, for example, their playing was ethereal during a calming interlude; their hushed tones were just on the other side of silence. The second movement is a brash scherzo with a more mellow trio in the middle. The busy piano part was handled adroitly by Melinda. In the slow third movement, both Lisa and Angela played their poignant melodies with a lovely, warm timbre. The last movement is marked “Mit Feuer” (with fire) by Schumann and the sisters dug into the robust main theme boldly. The progressively faster and louder coda was especially exciting.
For their encore, the Lees donned their dancing shoes and played Piazzolla’s nuevo tango, “Primavera Portena” with gypsy panache.
What a delightful evening of chamber music at its finest.
