Pianist Mary Kathleen Ernst and violinist Dina Kostic rehearse for the Zimmerman’s Cafe performance at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Lake Worth in October.
By Dannel Espinoza
I recently had the extreme pleasure of attending a one-of-a-kind concert put on by Zimmerman’s Cafe Chamber Music. This organization is following a 300-year-old tradition started in Leipzig by George Philipp Telemann where musicians of the Collegium Musicum would present concerts at a coffehouse owned by Gottfried Zimmerman. Johann Sebastian Bach eventually took over the series. His Coffee Cantata (Schweigt Stille, plaudert nicht, BWV 211) is thought to have been premiered at the series.
Zimmerman’s Cafe Chamber Music gifts their audience with a casual environment where discussion is encouraged. Not only is there time allowed for discussion with your fellow audience members, but you get to ask any question with the performers and composers themselves! I found myself significantly more engaged with their performance because of the format
The concert kicked off with Shigeko Rag, a wonderfully light rag by Greg Stepanich that really helped set the tone for this kind of casual environment. As I sat there listening to Mary Kathleen Ernst on the piano and sipping my coffee, I knew I made the best choice on how to spend my afternoon.
Each work on the program was introduced by the composer. Kevin Wilt explained to the audience how the next work on the program, Out in the Storm for violin and piano, was his first work to be inspired by his Florida surroundings. Luckily the entire audience was able to relate with the source of his inspiration! Wilt was able to beautifully balance the extra-musical sound effects of raindrops and thunder with the musical material that carried the piece forward. The sound of thunder coming from the piano was so effective that I briefly thought about the location of my umbrella.
Clare Shore introduced her work in progress, Day Tripping for violin, cello, and piano, a work draws its inspiration from the beauty of Florida’s natural waterways. Clare drew from her own experiences Kayaking throughout Florida and describes her music as coming from “peaceful solitude, the warmth of coexisting with other creatures and the exhilaration of grappling with a rare rushing current” This alongside the previous piece by Kevin Wilt were very interesting to hear after one another since they were both inspired by Florida surroundings. I found this work to be both evocative and highly engaging through it’s use of melodic imagery.
The fourth piece on the program, and unfinished Sonata for violin and piano by Greg Stepanich provided a stark contrast to the other works on this program. Although only the Adagio movement was performed it left the audience breathless, and yearning for more. Performers Dina Kostic on violin and Mary Kathleen Ernst on piano personified the musical dialogue intended by the composer effortlessly, displaying superior levels of communication and musical collaboration.
If you were to tell me that there was going to be a 12 tone piece that ends a program and leaves an audience with a smile on their face I’d say you were crazy, but Marshall Turkin’s Row Row Row Our Bows for violin and cello did just that. The composer explained that this work was a result of time spent away from his preferred compositional tool, the piano. The resulting work is at once light-hearted, complex, and highly enjoyable.
The format of this program is worth an additional note as it is both unique and forward thinking. The biggest complaint from most classical music audiences lays in the challenge of sitting still in a dark room for multiple hours. This performance turned the traditional performance experience on its head. Audience members were encouraged to ask questions, take part in discussions, and engage with the performers and composers throughout the performance. The audience seemed timid at first, clearly adhering to the rules of concert etiquette that had been drilled into their head, but opened up as the evening progressed.
Although the Zimmerman’s Cafe Chamber Music Series doesn’t yet have a second performance on the books, this series is one to keep on eye on! The unique performance formatting, inclusion of local living composers, and use of world class musicians promises interesting, and engaging concerts that I, for one, cannot wait to attend.
Editor’s Note: Palm Beach ArtsPaper founder Greg Stepanich was not involved in the assigning, writing, or editing of this story.