The Chamber Music Evening is to begin with two Trios which open up the world of feelings and romantic experiences. Glinka’s Trio Pathétique, which was created in his period of despair, is filled with dramatic emotions. In contrast to Glinka’s composition, Horn Trio in E-flat major for horn, violin and piano by Brahms shines with enjoyment of living, though it is not without light sadness.
Giovanni Bottesini’s works are otherwise oriented. The Italian composer and double bass virtuoso sought both to create vivid images and to show his mastery of the instrument. Like many other Bottesini’s compositions, his Gran Duo Concertante in A major for violin and double bass with piano is a spectacular gift to the public and a real challenge for performers.
The concert programme also includes some music borrowed from repertoires of other instruments. Béla Bartók’s Six Romanian Folk Dances were written for piano and later orchestrated. The version for violin and piano belongs to the Hungarian violinist Zoltán Székely who was charmed with the interpretation of the picturesque song and dance melodies from Transylvania. Sergei Prokofiev’s Five Melodies for violin and piano were originally composed as five vocalises for Nina Koshetz who was also called “petticoated Chaliapin”. The young composer geared his music to the outstanding soprano’s abilities and the sophisticated public of New York, therefore the delicate and freshly sounding vocalises came into being, and their melodies intended for broad ranges of voice and breath, demanded effortless and natural performance of almost acrobatic voice tricks. The violin arrangement of the masterpiece dedicated to Prokofiev’s violinist friends, simplified its path to the stage and the public’s access to one of the most enchanting and exquisite compositions of the period.
Oleg Maryash
