Chamber group at Minsky

Award-winning musicians The New Trio perform classics with vigorous fervor

Haley Johnston - Photo Editor

The award-winning New Piano Trio have been performing shows since 2006. Their latest performance took place at Minsky Hall on Sunday afternoon.

By Kaylie Reese

Posted on Sept. 25, 2011, at 10:28 p.m.

This Sunday, piano trio chamber ensemble The New Trio held a performance at the Minsky Recital Hall in 1944 Hall.

A piano trio is a chamber music group, consisting of a piano and two instruments. Musical compositions are written specifically for their arrangement and often follow a traditional sonata form, in that there are multiple movements of varying tempos and themes.

The New Trio formed in 2006 and now consists of violinist Andrew Wan, cellist Patrick Jee and pianist Julio Elizalde.

The group has received many awards for their prestige, including the grand prize for both the Coleman Chamber Music Competition in 2007 and the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition in 2008. Most recently, they won the Arthur W. Foote Award from the Harvard Musical Association in 2010.

The first piece performed was the “Piano Trio in E-flat major” by Franz Haydn. The piece opened in poco allegretto, a lively movement. It provided a cheerful tone with counterpoint melodies between the three performers. Haydn’s signature ornamentation was stylistically evident.

Hiccupping lilts, turns and trills all created a whimsical enhancement, becoming as necessary to the melody as the foundational notes. Each came together to craft a delicate balance, grounded by a robust cello line.

The second movement, andantino ed innocentemente — meaning “moderately fast and innocently” — presented a pensive tone. It was a bit dark, though it continued to move forward.

The piece’s finale, presto assai — “very quickly” — was an energetic resolution to its pensive predecessor. The lines seemed to frolic in their playfulness. The differentiation between playful and pensive served as a bridge, linking previously structured classical music to contemporary venues by such innovations.

Dramatic pauses enhanced the theatrics of this final movement. As the musicians faced away from each other, quick gasps pulled all three of them out of their silent suspension.

Before moving on to Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Piano Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 70 No. 2,” Elizalde noted a revision from the program and said this piece, written in 1808, was unconventional in several ways.

It more closely resembled Beethoven’s later style of composing. Additionally, the piece was written in four movements, with the middle two being the most unusual.

Movement one began the piece in a melodic counterpoint. A musical motif works to move the piece forward, transitioning from one expression to the next. Quick, droning trills add complexity to the melody, developing into delicate but sustaining lines.

The tempo of the piece seemed to be more influenced by its sentiments than regulated by metronome. Bits and pieces of the first movement briefly hinted toward a minor tone but quickly resolved back.

These minor traces offered up a returning question for the audience, anxiously wondering, “What if?”

The second movement, a lively allegretto, posed suggestive lilting inflections. These were starkly contrast by what Elizalde referred to as “stormy” glimpses. A walking, methodical melody was sustained by a quickly moving accompaniment.

The third movement, a less lively allegretto than the first, demonstrated another unconventional component to this piece. Elizalde noted that Beethoven was fond of and influenced by Renaissance music.

References to the Renaissance style were presented through archetypal harmonies between the cellist and violinist, with near-gothic suggestions. Its place in the contemporary work piece made the juxtaposition unusual.

However, Beethoven was very careful in transitioning the two different styles by modulating the themes in and out of the movement.

Finishing out the piece was a bright and lively fourth movement, evoking a posture of strength. Allegro, meaning “cheerful” in Italian, suited its theme.

After intermission, the trio finished the evening with Antonin Dvorak’s “Piano Trio in F Minor, Op. 65.”

Contrary to the previous two pieces, which simply alluded to a minor tone, Dvorak’s piece sustained the dismal nature. Also present in the piece was his influence of Czech folk music.

Movement one opened the piece with strings playing in unison, though differing in octaves. Its somber tone held throughout but it built up an almost frantic and longing urgency.

The second movement featured the piano extensively. It was intriguing as the rhythms fought one another. When the strings began, your ears expected to hear another melody match it. However, your sense of place was jolted, as the syncopation relocated itself — but this only added to the intrigue and complexity of the movement.

The third movement was slower and acted as a somber reflection or evaluation.

Finishing the piece was movement four — allegro con brio, meaning “cheerful with spirit.” The quick tempo caused its melancholy to become more upbeat and it alluded to a villainous theme, evidenced with chasing and incidental motifs.

The finale ended in a heroic resolution to a classic Minsky Hall classical performance by The New Trio.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 25th, 2011, 10:28 pm. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.