Chamber Players International Presents New Music Concert in Review
Bela Horvath, violin soloist; David Winkler, conductor;
Ensemble:
Violins 1: Bela Horvath (concertmaster), Mialtin Zhezha, Jessica Park, Ye-Jin Han
Violins 2: Regi Papa (principal), Ann SunHyung Kim, Haesol Lee
Viole: Matthew Cohen (principal), Daniel Lamas
Celli: Jacqueline Choi (principal), Molly Aronson
Double Bass: Kyle Colina
Mary Flagler Cary Hall, The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, New York, NY
May 10, 2022
It takes a special kind of bravery to direct a classical music performance organization through a pandemic, but I’m happy to report that Chamber Players International (CPI) has successfully done just that. Under the direction of composer/conductor David Winkler since 2000, CPI not only survived 2020 and 2021 intact while many organizations did not, but it has bounced back from 2022’s surprises as well. Given a last minute cancellation of their April 26th concert due to two performers’ illnesses, they were able to reschedule for this past Tuesday, May 10 (a potential nightmare in hall re-bookings, press, etc.). They came through with flying colors. One would expect low attendance for a rescheduled concert, but most seats were taken by avid listeners.
Their program Monday included mostly “new” music for lack of a better term, including a string quartet (2011) and violin concerto (2005) by American composer Steven Gerber (1948-2015), a quartet (2015) by composer/CPI Director David Winkler himself , and the premiere of a work commissioned especially by CPI entitled Sanctuary City by “Doctuh” Michael Woods, a noted composer/bassist/educator who has had his works performed by important orchestras and ensembles nationally. In addition to the newer fare, we heard one of Schubert’s isolated quartet movements, the Quartett-Satz D. 703 in C minor from 1820 – also called the String Quartet No. 12.
The Schubert Quartett-Satz launched the program with intense energy. It is a single movement, which for some reason Schubert did not expand into further movements (except for roughly forty surviving measures of a subsequent movement). Given the notorious chaos of Schubert’s manuscripts throughout his life, it is a safe guess that he meant to return to this “satz” but that necessity took him elsewhere. It is an exciting piece, and it was given a bracing performance by CPI’s quartet for the evening, consisting of violinists Bela Horvath and Regi Papa, violist Matthew Cohen, and cellist Jacqueline Choi. One realized in hearing these excellent players what an incredible resource CPI holds. With strong quartet players at the core of their larger ensemble, they can present concerti and quartets in the same night, opening up possibilities for programs of unusual variety. This Tuesday’s was one of those.
Following the Schubert came Steven Gerber’s String Quartet No. 6. Maestro Winkler introduced it as a “Zen-like” piece, and one can understand that reaction. At times, certain repetitive figures even brought to mind the writing of some minimalist composers, but in general, these figures are part of a musical fabric subsidiary to the work’s overarching lines, with highly expressive melodies coming to the fore (not terribly different from classical quartets of earlier centuries). At times one wanted a rebalancing of parts, as the “fabric” occasionally dominated, but all in all the piece’s fascinating qualities came through. It is commendable that CPI introduces listeners to this relatively little-known music. They chose four superb performers who honored it with their involvement.
Michael Woods came to the stage next to introduce his commissioned piece, Sanctuary City for String Ensemble. Preparing the listeners, he explained that his desired sound (often without the expected vibrato) was that of the creative “cauldron” of his ideal city, a city that one day could serve as a safe place to foster the work of musicians and artists of all styles and backgrounds – just as his own background blended orchestral classics of Mozart and Beethoven, Gospel, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Motown, and more. To illustrate his blend with some humor, he sang a phrase of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, the first time straight and then with a “funky” feel. The audience was rapt – as must be the students of “Doctuh” Woods at Hamilton College.
Sanctuary City as a piece of music proved to be as inspirational as the idea behind it. There were times when all the ensemble members seemed so individual and independent in this melting pot of “musics” that one wondered whether they could possibly converge – and sure enough they did in perfect synchronization where called for. Especially powerful and unifying were bass lines – not surprisingly, given the composer’s background playing bass. Double bassist Kyle Colina was an important presence, along with the evening’s cellists. Kudos to the “Doctuh” and the entire ensemble, and special congratulations to CPI for commissioning the work!
After intermission came Steven Gerber’s Two Lyric Pieces for Violin and String Ensemble, essentially a two-movement concerto, in which violinist Bela Horvath shone. Mr. Horvath wins the Most Valuable Player award for the evening for having not only served as first violinist and concertmaster through all the other works but also as soloist here. Opening in a low register unaccompanied, he was in his element from the very first notes, bringing a deep burnished tone to much of the ravishing first movement. The entire ensemble was radiant and in excellent balance as led by Maestro Winkler, who had mentioned earlier (by way of explaining the absence of a baton) that with a smaller ensemble he could sculpt the sound with his hands – and he did just that. Particularly impressive was the second movement Passacaglia with different instruments taking turns carrying the line. They all did a tremendous job.
After so much outstanding music-making, it was of great interest to hear the conductor’s own String Quartet No. 4 to close the program, and it did not disappoint. Starting with a motive that resembled the Dies Irae chant, albeit a frenzied version with expanding intervals, it developed over its long course into quite an exhaustive journey, providing ample challenges for the listener as well as a vehicle for these fine players. Some stunning playing here came from cellist Jacqueline Choi, who was also a contender for my own MVP list throughout the evening. She provided a solid gold foundation for every single one of these difficult works – and always, amazingly, with pitch that never faltered.
CPI can feel quite proud of this latest concert, and one looks forward to hearing much more from them. Bravi tutti!
