The Vienna Piano Trio came to the Flagler Museum and with their excellence showed that European instrumentalists of this caliber play on a level a couple of notches higher than most.
The refinement, the polish and the sensitivity (and showmanship) they brought to their concert of music by Haydn, Beethoven and Saint-Saens was like burnished gold. They have won prizes galore, and now in the city where music is the holiest of holies, the Trio were granted the coveted residency at the Vienna Konzerthaus.
Founded more than 20 years ago, the trio consists of Stefan Mendl, piano; Matthias Gredler, cello and Bogdan Bozovic, violin. A full house was present and received them with great enthusiasm.
The program opened with Haydn’s Piano Trio in C (Hob. XV: 27). The unhappily married Haydn made two successful professional and romantic visits to London, which in the aftermath of the French Revolution in 1789 had become home to displaced aristocrats from France, Italy and Germany. In 1794-95 Haydn met Theresa Jansen, who took piano lessons from Clementi.
The piano part of this trio has brilliance and many difficult runs. It was superbly played by Mendl, who has a touch like running water: smooth, accomplished and accurate. In it the piano has dominance, but it’s not overwhelming, with the cello doubling as the piano’s bass section, while the violin is generally ornamental. The attack of the string players was refreshing, concentrated and intense.
The cellist, Gredler, used his 1752 Guadagnini cello to great effect, playing like a demon possessed. What a magnificent instrument this is. The lively violin, a 1685 Stradivarius, blended beautifully with the piano and cello. One can perhaps guess that in the first movement of the trio (Allegro) he was working out his relationships, while in the second (Andante), the music is so sublime he must have been thinking about what all the women meant to him. The third movement (Presto) has such a cheeky piano tune, with its many variations, that perhaps he had Theresa in mind.
Next came Beethoven’s Piano Trio in E-flat (Op. 44). In his lifetime, Beethoven composed about 70 sets of variations, mostly taken from popular arias in operas. Carl von Dittersdorf’s singspiel The Little Red Cap reached Bonn in 1792, and Beethoven wrote 14 variations on a tune from the opera called Yes, I must part from her.
The brilliance of the writing is as expected from such a master, and its youthful quality is evident throughout (he was 22 at the time). There were delightful embellishments of the melody and a dazzling piano cadenza, plus a jolly hunting style before the ending Presto to show off the versatility of these three expert musicians. They made the music sound like perfection personified.
The concert ended with the Piano Trio No. 2 (in E minor, Op. 92) of Camille Saint-Saëns. Thirty years elapsed between the composition of his Piano Trio No. 1 and this piece, which he wrote at 57 while living in self-imposed exile in French colonial Algeria. It is a mature work in five movements. Allegro non troppo is first and it begins rather ominously. Strong piano playing with repeated chords build the tension, and one senses a yearing for his native land. The Allegretto opens delicately and goes on to express fiery emotion with brilliant writing for the piano. Then the Andante con moto brings the strings to fore with a lovely melody and languid romantic feelings.
Fourth comes a “delicious intruder” ― a phrase used by Saint-Saëns’ friend, Charles Lecocq in describing the waltz theme, marked Grazioso, poco allegro. Violinist Bozovic had fun here as the melody merrily moves along. The final movement is a fugal Allegro non troppo on a grand scale. Much intensity from all three players, as they wrestled with its difficulty. Virtuosic piano passages flow in the grandest French romantic manner as the piece ends with a rousing flourish.
Vienna sent us this amazing trio of three dedicated men, so refined, so accomplished in their playing of this lush magnificent romantic work.
The Flagler Museum series concludes Tuesday, March 5, with the Austin, Texas-based Miro Quartet, playing two pieces by Schubert – his Quartettsatz (D. 703) and the Death and the Maiden Quartet (D. 810) – and one by Beethoven: The Hero Quartet (in C, Op. 59, No. 3). 7:30 pm, Flagler Museum. Tickets: $60, includes champagne reception afterward. Call (561) 655-2833 or visit www.flaglermuseum.us.