Noree Chamber Soloists NYC Concert Series Season Finale in Review

Noree Chamber Soloists NYC Concert Series Season Finale in Review

Yoon Lee, Yi Qun Xu, artistic directors
Stella Chen, Francesca dePasquale, Bela Horvath, violins; Caeli Smith, viola; Yi Qun Xu, cello; Yoon Lee, piano
Guest Artists: Catherine Cho, violin; Roger Tapping, viola; James Kim, cello
Church of the Blessed Sacrament, New York, NY
May 24, 2018

 

The Noree Chamber Soloists (www.noree.org), with special guest artists Catherine Cho, Roger Tapping, and James Kim lending their talents, concluded their NYC Concert Series season on May 24, 2018 with a program of Beethoven, Fauré, and Mendelssohn at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament. This program was originally scheduled for September of last year but had had to be re-scheduled. The unforeseen bonus of this delay was that the Church of the Blessed Sacrament meanwhile received a beautiful new Steinway grand piano (less than a month ago).

The well-written and informative program notes written by Jung-Min Mina Lee, Noree Chamber Soloists’ resident musicologist, made an immediately favorable impression on this reviewer. It should also be mentioned that in a previous review in this journal (The Viola Sings- Noree Chamber Soloists), the lack of printed notes had been noted, so the willingness to address this issue, which some might consider a reviewer’s fussiness, was also appreciated. Biographies of all the artists were included as well.

I will admit to having some trepidation about the acoustics of this venue, but the wise placement of the players in the middle of the hall, with the audience seated close to them, proved to be effective in keeping the sound “local”.

Pianist Yoon Lee and violinist Catherine Cho opened the concert with Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 3 in E-flat major, Op.12, No. 3. This early work reflects Beethoven’s most optimistic self. It is brimming with ebullience in the outer movements and lyrical beauty in the central slow movement. Even though this is a violin sonata, with a more or less equal partnership between the players, Beethoven gives the pianist the lion’s share of the difficulties – this is not at all to suggest that the violinist has a “walk in the park” (nothing could be further from the truth) – just to say that the pianist for this work deserves special recognition. Ms. Lee was equal to Beethoven’s virtuosic demands while never overpowering Ms. Cho, even though the piano was on the full stick. Ms. Cho projected a rich, vibrant tone, while tackling the technical challenges with an assured ease. It was a pleasure to witness Ms. Cho’s and Ms. Lee’s rapport. The audience was thrilled by their performance, with many shouts of Bravo! It is always heartening to this listener to witness such an enthusiastic response to a fine performance.

Fauré’s Piano Quartet No. 2 in G minor, Op. 45 followed the Beethoven. Violinist Francesca dePasquale, violist Roger Tapping, and cellist Yi Qun Xu, joined Ms. Lee. While I was impressed with the passionate playing of the opening movement, the frenetic energy of the perpetuum mobile second movement, and the “all-in” approach to the driving relentlessness of the finale, it was the third movement Adagio that set this performance apart. Of this movement, Fauré himself said he was inspired by the memory of evening bells from his childhood in the village of Cadirac. The audience listened with rapt attention as the ensemble played this “eerie reverie” (Fauré ‘s words) with exquisite sensitivity.

After Intermission, violinists Catherine Cho, Stella Chen, Francesca dePasquale, Bela Horvath, violists Caeli Smith and Roger Tapping, and cellists James Kim and Yi Qun Xu joined forces for Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20. Written when Mendelssohn was sixteen as a birthday gift for his violin teacher Eduard Ritz (pity the other gift givers who had to follow that!), the Octet is, as stated in the program notes, “a dazzling display of individuality and imagination not commonly matched with a sixteen-year-old.” One could easily add “or one of any age!” It is no mean feat even for ensembles who have played together extensively to successfully navigate not only the technical challenges, but the ensemble ones as well, so I was adopting a “wait-and-see” outlook. Happily, these players meshed together wonderfully. Balance and intonation were excellent, and passagework was crisp and clearly articulated. The third movement, the well-loved Scherzo, which takes inspiration from Goethe’s Faust, had a light, puckish playfulness that sparkled with elfin magic. It was the highlight of not only the Octet, but the entire performance for this listener. After the thrills of the Presto finale, the audience rewarded the players with a richly deserved standing ovation. A wine reception awaited the audience after the concert.

Noree Chamber Soloists is a group with great promise. These young players already possess technical mastery and, given more time playing together, they should mature into a first-rate ensemble.

 

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by Jeffrey Williams  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY
The Viola Sings: Noree Chamber Soloists, NYC Concert Series III in Review

The Viola Sings: Noree Chamber Soloists, NYC Concert Series III in Review

 Yoon Lee, Yi Qun Xu, artistic directors
Yoon Lee, piano; Stella Chen, Bela Horvath, violins; Sung Jin Lee, Caeli Smith, violas; Aaron Wolff, Mariko Wyrick, Yi Qun Xu, cellos; Yi Hsuan Chiu, double bass
Church of the Blessed Sacrament, New York, NY
April 12, 2018

 

The Noree Chamber Soloists gave a good program April 12th at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament that featured the viola in various prominent roles. For me, the terms “chamber” and “soloist” don’t really belong together, their two aesthetics opposed, but perhaps I’m just being cranky. These young players are all obviously in command of their instruments, playing with musicality of a high order. Any reservations I have I will attempt to clarify in the details below.

The evening began with a beautifully phrased account of Mozart’s well-known Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major (K. 488), in which the soloist and artistic director Yoon Lee showed fleet scale-work, utterly even runs, and poetry when needed, despite the inferior instrument on which she had to perform. I did feel that it sounded “denatured” without the ever-so-important wind parts. Perhaps K. 414 (No. 12, the “other” A major) would have been a better choice, since Mozart himself arranged it for piano and string quartet. The strings sounded well, but I would have preferred greater inflection in phrase direction; I thought the acoustics of the large cathedral space were “eating details,” so to speak. I would have liked to hear more from Yoon Lee, but this was her only contribution to the evening.

A very good rendition of Ligeti’s solo viola sonata by Sung Jin Lee followed. It uses Rumanian folk-sources and their characteristic quarter-tone bending to tell its story. No matter how well one explains the pitch bending, it remains difficult for ears that are not culturally accustomed to hear it as anything but “out-of-tune”. It was certainly not in this case.

Yoon Lee, Pianist

All the works were preceded by verbal program notes, which I enjoy, but the speakers need to project their voices so all might hear them clearly, especially in such a reverberant space. The lack of printed program notes, a lamentably common event in New York of late, seemed especially wrong given the unusual repertoire presented.

Next came an excellent rendition of Derek Bermel’s Soul Garden, for viola and string quintet, with Caeli Smith as soloist. Mr. Bermel delivered his own program note, stating that he conceived the viola as a sort of “gospel baritone,” and the bluesy flavor of the solo part was perfectly done. The difficult ensemble accompaniment was especially ethereal.

After intermission, Brahms’s String Quintet No.1 in F major, Op. 88 was given a strong, committed reading, one that flowed with liquid enthusiasm, appropriate for this mostly sunny score. Phrasing, direction, and many details were all carefully worked out, though I wished for more “growing” when, for instance, a note is played syncopated and held while a new harmony appears underneath it. It is too easy to play one’s instrument so well that the sense of yearning, so crucial to Romantic period music (especially Brahms), can be minimized, removing an important dimension from the music. Also, as often happens in such an acoustic, the lowest sonorities tend to disappear, and I felt the cello part needed to compensate more for that. Sung Jin Lee was the excellent “singing” first viola. Stella Chen on first violin, and cellist Yi Qun Xu were also wonderful, which is not to ignore the contributions of the others at all. These musicians will mature even more if they remain together, but their starting level is already high.

 

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by Frank Daykin  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY