The Center for Musical Excellence (CME) presents Brannon Cho in Review
Brannon Cho, cello
Victor Santiago Asuncion, piano
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
April 22, 2019
On April 22, 2019, The Center for Musical Excellence(CME) presented 2015 CME Artist Winner Brannon Cho in his Carnegie Hall (Weill Hall stage) recital debut. CME Founder and Director Min Kwon spoke briefly before the recital about CME, and to explain the four-year gap between Mr. Cho’s award and his debut by explaining that CME did not want to rush, but to allow Mr. Cho to continue exploring opportunities. It appears that Mr. Cho has been quite busy since then, and, given the quality of his performance on this evening, he should continue to be for the foreseeable future.
Mr. Cho and pianist Victor Santiago Asuncion took the stage and opened with Boccherini’s Sonata in A major, G.4 (the first two movements only). A sunny work, it was an ideal opener. Mr. Cho’s beautiful singing tone, combined with razor-sharp articulation, made one eager for what was to come.
Following the Boccherini came Matthias Pintscher’s Figura V/Assonanza (part of a larger work Figura I-V for String Quartet). With fluttering ultra-soft harmonics and sounds of atmend (breathing), it has an eerie, atmospheric quality. Mr. Cho’s playing was mesmerizing, even if one was left wondering whether this was meant to be chiefly an exercise in special effects. In any case, it showed Mr. Cho’s versatility as an artist.
More mainstream fare came next with Brahms’s Cello Sonata in E minor, Op. 38. Brahms entitled it Sonate für Klavier und Violoncello with the intent that the pianist is not merely a background accompanist, but a full and equal partner. Completed in 1865, the sonata is Brahms’s homage to J. S. Bach and uses material from Contrapuncti 4 and 13 of The Art of Fugue, as Mr. Cho reminds us in his program notes. This work always brings to mind the famous story associated with it, about Brahms and the cellist Robert Hausmann, its dedicatee. Hausmann was playing this work with Brahms at the piano, and Brahms was playing so loudly that Hausmann remarked that he could not hear his cello. “Lucky for you!” was Brahms’s reply! This listener thinks that the gruff Brahms would have been delighted with this performance. The rapport between Mr. Cho and Mr. Asuncion was striking, each attuned to the other as if they shared a single mind. The opening movement was filled with the feeling of sorrow, but also the glimmers of hope, as the duo robustly conveyed. The second movement Menuetto was played with charm. The finale was thrilling in its mutuality of conception. The large, and very enthusiastic audience gave the players a standing ovation. It was one of the finer performances of this masterpiece this listener has heard.
After intermission, Mr. Cho opened the second half with Benjamin Britten’s Cello Suite No. 1, Op. 72. The first of three suites written for and dedicated to Mstislav Rostropovich, it is inspired by Bach’s cello suites and Rostropovich’s cello playing. It is a haunting nine-movement solo cello work, with a beautiful opening canto that repeats several times in later movements, each time with an increasingly disturbing tone. The movements that surround the canto suggest memories, some playful and childlike, and others of a nightmarish quality. The ending is manic, with a final angry outburst in its final notes. The challenges are immense. The cellist must not only deal with the technical demands (which are considerable), but also convey the almost manic mood changes while trying to maintain the sense of structure and continuity for the work’s twenty-plus minutes.
There was none of the coughing or fidgeting from the audience that one often hears/sees in a work of this type – indeed, their attention was locked to the stage with utter silence. This listener was completely transfixed, experiencing the joy, the innocence, and the nightmares, as if privy to a particularly emotional therapy session. To convey this musically was something extraordinary. It was my favorite performance of the evening, and it is still resonating in my mind as I write these lines.
After the emotionally demanding Britten, it was time for Mr. Cho to have some fun, and this took the form of Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20, a staple of the violin repertoire. Why should violinists have all the fun? In an arrangement by Hans Jørgen Jensen (Mr. Cho’s teacher at Northwestern), Mr. Cho let loose with a performance that many a violinist would be hard pressed to equal. With all of the Roma soulfulness coupled with the scintillating virtuosic fire, Mr. Cho’s playing exceeded all expectations (and for full disclosure, this reviewer heard Mr. Cho in a 2015 performance on YouTube as pre-concert preparation, so there was already some idea of what to expect). The audience leapt to their feet in a loud ovation, which almost seemed an insufficient response to such a dynamic performance!
Mr. Cho offered two encores. The first, Chopin’s Etude, Op. 25, No. 7, as arranged by Alexander Glazunov, was announced from the stage by Mr. Cho. The heartfelt melody was played with melting beauty by both players. The second, with the grandiose title “Concert Paraphrase on ‘Largo al factotum’ from Barber of Seville” (sometimes simply called “Figaro”), arranged by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, was not announced, but it is highly likely that most made the Rossini connection. It is a sure-fire crowd pleaser. Mr. Cho played it to the hilt, with wit, whimsy, and brilliance.
After such a showstopper as the Zigeunerweisen, this reviewer had reservations about doing another such piece as an encore, lest it diminish the effect of the “serious” works (especially the Britten) – and yet it was a savvy move on his part to whip the audience into a frenzy. It worked – the audience loved every second and once again reacted with an extended standing ovation.
Mr. Cho is an artist to watch – mature beyond his years as a musician. Yes, he has technique to burn (and he is not at all shy about using it), but he pairs this with a fine sense of line and phrase shaping. He knows when to “breathe,” and does not hurry, letting the sound linger organically, without “chopping” phrase endings. Mr. Asuncion deserves high praise as well for both his attentive collaboration as well as his assured technique. I hope to hear this duo again in the future.
