Why Hakhnazaryan is so highly touted became clear during his performance of Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, Op. 73, on the program’s first half. He gets a radiant sound from his instrument, phrases naturally, and has superb bow control. Perhaps the most impressive thing was that he made it seem so fluid and effortless, even in the vigorous third piece. Here is a musician on the fast track, and deservedly so.
Mihae Lee was an attentive accompanist in the Schumann. She, Hakhnazaryan, and violinist Jennifer Frautschi opened the concert with a pleasant if somewhat bland reading of Mozart’s Piano Trio in B-flat, K.502. Between that and the Schumann came the Four Poems, Op. 5, of Loeffler, who, though raised in Germany, came to the United States and became the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s assistant concertmaster in 1882.
The Poems set texts by Baudelaire and Verlaine for mezzo-soprano, viola, and piano. Their musical language, which owes much to impressionism, is used to striking effect in the settings of Baudelaire’s “La Cloche fêlée’’ and Verlaine’s “Le Son du cor s’afflige vers les bois.’’ In both, Loeffler creates a brooding, nocturnal atmosphere, the sleek tone of Krista River’s voice intertwining with Roger Tapping’s sinuous viola lines.
The second half was given over to Gubaidulina’s early Piano Quintet, written in 1957 while she was a student at Moscow Conservatory. The influence of Shostakovich is present right from the opening outburst: hammering rhythms, skewed melodic lines, hints of sarcasm. Also like Shostakovich, she packs violent expression into traditional forms. Yet there are hints of the experimentalism that would later characterize her music, especially in the beautifully despondent slow movement. The finale builds to a feverish pace and, just when you expect the music to explode, it becomes increasingly disembodied, and simply vanishes.
Violinist Ida Levin joined Frautschi, Tapping, Hakhnazaryan, and Lee for a searing performance. The piano part was demanding, and Lee received a well-earned solo bow at the end.
David Weininger can be reached at globeclassicalnotes@gmail.com.
