Chamber festival treats listeners to 1920s works, superbly played

Except for Brahms, the Seattle Chamber Music Festival concentrated on the early 20th century Friday night at Lakeside School. And what good and interesting works they were, and superbly performed.

MUSIC REVIEW

SEATTLE CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL

WHEN: Through Friday night

WHERE: Lakeside School, 14050 First Ave. N.E.

TICKETS: $29-$38, with student discounts; 206-283-8808 or www.seattlechambermusic.org.

The evening, yet again with a capacity audience, began with the rarely heard Shostakovich Piano Trio in C Minor, marking its festival premiere. It is an early piece of the Russian composer, written when he was a piano and composition student at the Petrograd (now St. Petersburg) Conservatory. That he was precocious is obvious in every measure. His First Symphony, written as a graduation work and acclaimed at its premiere in 1926, follows by only three years.

It would not be easy to discern that Dmitri Shostakovich wrote the piano trio, for none of his characteristic traits -- developed later in his career -- was in evidence at the time: no edge, no acidity, no bittersweet moments, no anguish, no satire. Instead, it flows easily in the fluent style of the Romantic era.

Violinist Stephen Rose, cellist Amit Peled and pianist Jeremy Denk handled their assignments with aplomb and suave assurance, resisting the urge to try to make the trio more like the Shostakovich we know. The tunes rang true and full. Rose provided the sweetness and facility the part demands, with Peled as his able partner. The Israeli cellist is making a big impression this summer at the festival -- his first. Not only does he have the requisite fingers and musical finesse, but he also commands a sound of immense richness and beauty. This is a cello both appealing and sublime. Denk played very well indeed, helping make an attractive introduction to the trio.

Leos Janacek's Violin Sonata is entirely another matter. It also was written in the 1920s, but Janacek was nearly two generations older than Shostakovich and at the height of his powers. Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers and pianist Adam Neiman were the work's advocates, and how well they played together. Meyers is a player of secure means and ample sense of the phrases, adding dynamic variety and approach when needed. Neiman, used by the festival in so many ways, demonstrated his complete grasp of the music.

Johannes Brahms' B-flat String Sextet ended the evening. It, too, is an early work: He was in his mid-20s at the time. It reflects a sunny disposition, somewhat conservative and often ebullient in nature. There is much to admire in the youthful work, especially the theme and variations of the slow movement; the Scherzo's breathtaking exchanges, so rhythmically acute and vigorous; and the mercurial temperament of the concluding Rondo.

The performance had skilled proponents: English violinist Tasmin Little and Polish violist Maurycy Banaszek, both in their festival debuts this summer, joined by Rose, violist Geraldine Walther and cellists Ronald Thomas and Toby Saks. Serbian violinist Stefan Milenkovich, in his first festival season, was supposed to play but had to withdraw because of illness; Rose took his place.

Although the opening possessed some scrappy and rough-edged moments, the reading settled into music making that was highly sophisticated and polished. Little, as first violinist, was forceful and had a good partner in the deft work of Walther, as first violist. Thomas, first cellist, made a number of his own contributions. The secondary players -- Rose, Banaszek and Saks -- played their roles well.

P-I music critic R.M. Campbell can be reached at 206-448-8396 or rmcampbell@seattlepi.com

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