Big names in a cozy hall…
The fifth and last “Berkeley Symphony & Friends” chamber music concert was held at the Piedmont Center for the Arts last Sunday, Apr. 13, starring three very accomplished musicians. Violinist Rene Mandel, the Executive Director of the Berkeley Symphony, forsook pen for bow to party with Peter Wyrick, the Associate Principal Cellist of the SF Symphony, along with virtuoso German pianist Markus Pawlik, recently relocated from Los Angeles.
Cello and piano started off with J. S. Bach’s Sonata No. 1 for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord, and Pawlik’s high action and chiseled phrases helped turn a modern grand piano into something resembling the arched delicacy of harpsichord. Complementing that, Wyrick’s fluent fingering helped him keep Baroque runs both clean and expressive. Written for the softer and more agile viola da gamba, the duet was a real workout on modern cello.
Wyrick made the inside of each passage as interesting as the ends, with rounded notes and gestures. After the mild first movement and fiery second, the Lento was an opportunity to hear his money notes, long-held passages that transformed smoothly into new phrases.
And then Mandel was called off the bench to replace Wyrick for Beethoven’s Sonata for Piano and Violin in D-Major, Op. 12. This was an exceedingly difficult choice. Mandel put the “brio” in the Allegro con brio, with a lot of bite on his bow and eye-popping runs.
But somehow, it didn’t really sound like Beethoven. It had too much “star power” and more repetition than is usual in his pieces. But Mandel and Pawlik over-emphasized the dynamics and tempo changes to help shape the indubitable mastery of those inner landscapes.
And then a phrase ended on an odd note, and in the next phrase they had smoothly shifted keys, and it was obvious that this was indeed Beethoven, with his ability to turn on a dime. Their rendition of the slower Andante was absolutely lovely, and then they took turns with huge runs before returning to a satisfyingly slow pitch. Here, Mandel went from fiery to fragile, and Pawlik answered with feather-like strokes.
After intermission the three got to play together in a huge performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 1 in D-Minor, Op. 49. After stylishness (Bach) and combat-ready virtuosity (Beethoven) the storming emotions of Mendelssohn overflowed Piedmont’s cozy hall.
Wyrick, whose ease at the top of the cello was apparent in his Haydn solo with the Berkeley Symphony last winter (12/11/13 Piedmont Post), here opened up with bowing from Down Under, vibrations so low that I think I felt it through my chair. Then Mandel reprised the yearning theme in the rich middle of his range, and the audience was treated to an accord that was not only swooning but apparently telepathic.
Pawlik was an excellent partner, but Mendelssohn’s long continuous phrases tended to rumble in the small hall, a problem that may require a baffle or hangings to redistribute the sound. But his lean solo in the Andante was all one could ask for. And then Mandel and Wyrick joined in soaring lines for more gorgeous accords. The movement ended with slow rising piano scales, oddly piquant against string grumbles.
And then back to summer storms!
—Adam Broner
Photos, from top, of Peter Wyrick, Rene Mandel and Marcus Pawlik (photo by Marcel Indik).
Rene Mandel announced that the Berkeley Symphony plans to partner with the Piedmont Center for the Arts for a second season next year with four chamber concerts. Among the artists will be such luminaries as Stuart Canin and Sarah Cahill, along with Berkeley Symphony regulars – and one hopes Mandel! Also, he noted that their upcoming May 1 concert is nearly sold out. More details at berkeleysymphony.org.