December 3, 2023
Ahavath Achim Synagogue
Atlanta, GA – USA
David Coucheron, violin; Zhenwei Shi, viola; Daniel Laufer, cello; Elizabeth Pridgen, piano; Julie Coucheron, piano.
Franz SCHUBERT: Fantasie in F minor, D. 940
Edvard GRIEG: Sonata for Violin and Piano (No. 2) in G major, Op. 13
Johannes BRAHMS: Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op 60
Mark Gresham | 7 DEC 2023
On Sunday afternoon, the Georgian Chamber Players performed an elegant concert of mainstream Romantic repertoire by Schubert, Grieg, and Brahms in the recently renovated Sanctuary of Atlanta’s Ahavath Achim Synagogue.
The musicians performed in front of the Sanctuary’s bimah (a platform architecturally akin to the chancel of a Christian church), which, in this case, is thrust considerably forward in the room; the result is that there was considerable seating available to the sides of the bimah, somewhat behind the musicians, although the majority of the audience was seated in front of the performers for the event.
In this context and the new Sanctuary’s acoustic environment, the group delivered a lean sound, a little less warm than desirable, but offering clarity to hear the inner interplay of voices among the instruments, although somewhat warmer, richer piano sonics would have enhanced the overall experience.
It was the piano alone that we heard first in the concert via Franz Schubert’s Fantasie in F minor, D. 940 (Op. posth. 103) for piano, four hands, performed by Julie Coucheron and Elizabeth Pridgen.
Among Schubert’s 38 works for two or more pianists, it is one of his most important and original. He composed it in the last year of his short life (1828). Granted, Schubert wrote his piano duets for playing in the home parlor with family and friends. Still, as concert music, this four-movement Fantasie should be as well-regarded as his great final solo piano sonatas.
Next, violinist David Coucheron joined sister Julie in performing the Sonata for Violin and Piano in G major, Op. 13, of Edvard Grieg. It’s the “middle child” of Grieg’s three violin sonatas, which he considered to be among his finest works. One can hear in this Second Sonata the influence of the great Norwegian violinist Ole Bull, a nationalist who championed the use of Norwegian folk elements in music and influenced the jump-starting of the young composer’s studies in music. Grieg wrote the Sonata while in Oslo, and who better to play it than a pair of Norwegian siblings born in Nesodden, just across the inner Oslofjord?
Violinist David Coucheron and pianist Julie Coucheron perform Grieg’s “Violin Sonata No. 2” at AA Synagogue. (courtesy of GCP)
The first movement began “Lento doloroso” in G minor, then switched to G major at the “Allegro vivace” exposition for a spring dance in high contrast. Grieg’s youthful studies in Leipzig, Germany, influenced the movement’s taut sonata form, but the energy and zest of the folk dance are purely Norwegian and personal for the composer.
The second movement (“Allegretto tranquillo”) was magnetically drawn again toward dance, even though it began and ended in a minor mode. There were explicit nods to the first movement and a pastoral section in the middle.
Like the first movement, the finale was pure dance despite its formal textbook structure, with its occasional passionate shadows outweighed by a sunny disposition.
The final work on the program was the Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60 by Johannes Brahms, performed by violinist David Coucheron, violist Zhenwei Shi, cellist Daniel Laufer, and pianist Elizabeth Pridgen.
The opening movement began with the piano playing bare octaves introducing a transposed version of Robert Schumann’s “Clara theme” (cf Schumann’s Fantasie in C Major, Op. 17). Brahms uses chromaticism and thematic exploration throughout, which contributed to the movement’s expressive and enigmatic quality.
The second movement, a tempestuous scherzo in C minor, served as a tonal balance to the preceding movement, with the piano playing a pivotal role in developing variations. The middle section lacks a distinct “trio” designation and maintains continuity of key, time signature, and tempo while introducing new themes and developing existing ones. The return to the “scherzo” section culminated in a triumphant Tierce de Picardie on C major.
The “Andante” third movement stood out as the sole movement not in C minor, residing instead in the distant key of E major. The violoncello was featured at the beginning, introducing a lush melody accompanied by the piano, another nod to Schumann’s influence. The music proceeded to explore chromaticism and intricate interplay between piano and strings, moving through various keys, with a reprise of the opening theme culminating in a pianissimo affirmation of the tonic.
Brahms also incorporated references to Mendelssohn and Beethoven in the “Allegro comodo” finale, giving it literary and musical allusions. It began quietly with a violin theme over leggiero piano, finally joined by viola and cello just before a crescendo to a forte back-and-forth exchange between strings and piano. It then transitioned through tonalities, including a thunderous C minor section, and shifted to E♭ major. The tranquillo middle section introduced a piano-derived theme, leading to a climactic exchange with the strings. The recapitulation revisited the initial violin theme but with all the strings involved, extending the exposition’s themes. Influenced by the movement’s development, the coda concluded the quartet with a tranquillo section, descending to an enigmatic pianissimo, then a pair of final forte C major chords.
Although not an adventurous program in terms of repertoire, it was an expertly-played, finely-tuned one that made for a delightful Sunday afternoon concert. ■
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Georgian Chamber Players: georgianchamberplayers.org
- Ahavath Achim Synagogue: aasynagogue.org
Read more by Mark Gresham.
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