noon concerts
Jul. 3rd, 2009 03:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
calimacIt's been the week of the Stanford chamber music seminar, and that means:
1) intriguing sounds leaking out from the closed doors of the music center;
2) free noon concerts!
The St. Lawrence String Quartet, the resident Stanford ensemble, shared the three concerts this week with the Gryphon Trio, from Canada, who - finding themselves playing on Wednesday, Canada Day - began their concert with a piano trio arrangement of the Canadian national anthem. No hockey game broke out. Instead, we got crisp, punchy performances of a Haydn piano trio and Mendelssohn's Op. 66.
The St. Lawrence offered Haydn's Op. 77 No. 2 quartet, Dvorak's Op. 106, and the Ravel. The Ravel was particularly well played, and almost cured me of my dislike for the piece. There's some good stuff in the middle movements. The Dvorak interested me even more. This is a work I hadn't known until I learned it to review the St. Lawrence playing it in concert in April. I hadn't heard it since, but now it was an old friend, proving again an axiom I've long known: that I most enjoy listening to music I already know well. By all odds, this was an even better performance than they gave in April.
One more thing the seminar means:
3) The last-day student marathon concert. Some four hours of assorted chamber music movements. Sunday, Campbell Recital Hall, starting at 11 AM. I've always enjoyed these. I'll be there.
1) intriguing sounds leaking out from the closed doors of the music center;
2) free noon concerts!
The St. Lawrence String Quartet, the resident Stanford ensemble, shared the three concerts this week with the Gryphon Trio, from Canada, who - finding themselves playing on Wednesday, Canada Day - began their concert with a piano trio arrangement of the Canadian national anthem. No hockey game broke out. Instead, we got crisp, punchy performances of a Haydn piano trio and Mendelssohn's Op. 66.
The St. Lawrence offered Haydn's Op. 77 No. 2 quartet, Dvorak's Op. 106, and the Ravel. The Ravel was particularly well played, and almost cured me of my dislike for the piece. There's some good stuff in the middle movements. The Dvorak interested me even more. This is a work I hadn't known until I learned it to review the St. Lawrence playing it in concert in April. I hadn't heard it since, but now it was an old friend, proving again an axiom I've long known: that I most enjoy listening to music I already know well. By all odds, this was an even better performance than they gave in April.
One more thing the seminar means:
3) The last-day student marathon concert. Some four hours of assorted chamber music movements. Sunday, Campbell Recital Hall, starting at 11 AM. I've always enjoyed these. I'll be there.
