Lunchtime Recital #4, Thursday 16th August


Tuckamore Festival
Young Artists
Lunchtime Recital
“The Kirk”
Thursday, 16th August 2018
12.30pm

Today’s rectal, the last in the series of four, offered four different composers ranging from the late eighteenth century to the middle of the twentieth: Haydn, Vieuxtemps, Brahms and Shostakovich. The eclectic mix is one of the reasons why these recitals are so popular, as well as offering the opportunity to these Young Artists to show their individual skills as well as their ensemble playing.

The first performer, Maggie Kerr, hails from Fredericton, NB, performing the Moderato movement from Joseph Haydn’s ‘Cello Concerto No.1 in C Major, with Patrick Cashin piano. In the Young Artists concert last Saturday, Ms Kerr had not seemed at ease in the context of the quartet she was playing in, but today she seemed relaxed, full of confidence, and gave a wonderful performance, obviously relishing the fine accoustics that the church architecture affords. The concerto was composed between 1761 and 1765, but the full score was thought lost until 1961, when a musicologist found it in the Prague National Museum. The work demands a lot from the soloist: leaps of two octaves or more, dizzying scalar passages, and so on. Ms Kerr delivered it all, as well as a fine cadenza (composed by herself?).

The second performer was Geena Salway from Regina SK, playing Henri Vieuxtemps’ Elégie, Op.30. According to Wikipedia, Vieuxtemps was a fine violinist, compared by some to Paginini, and produced a sizeable repertoire for strings. His Elégie, considered a salon work, demands a wide range of technical ability from the performers, as well as emotional expressivity. Ms Salway, partnered by Mr. Cashin, gave an impressive demonstration of both. The elegy concept explores reaction to death, though whose death inspired this work is not known. Elegies can easily become maudlin, but Vieuxtemps’ approach is more realistic. There is sadness, yes, but there is also anger directed perhaps at the departed for passing too soon, but perhaps at the one left behind for having failed to show true love and friendship before it was too late. Ms Salway was equal to all demands placed upon her, as was Mr. Cashin in his performance of the piano score.

The third performance of the day saw a reprise of Brahms’ Piano Trio no.1 in B Major, Op.8. Last Saturday Raina Saunders, violin, Charlotte Tyhurst, ‘cello, and Iris Hung, piano, gave us the first movement of the work; today we had the Adagio. What the subject was for Brahms’ slow, meditative unfolding of themes, I do not know. But it clearly demands subtlety in managing the tempi, and full control of touch as cadences move into and out of discordance. All three performers demonstrated that they were up for the challenge, and the gentle resolution at the end perfectly matched the ambiance of the Kirk’s sanctuary. Well done!

Our fourth performer, from Markham, ON, Christopher Chan chose Shostakovich’s ‘Cello Concerto No.1, Op.77, the Moderato movement. We first heard Mr. Chan in the context of a quartet in last Saturday’s concert, where his playing seemed subdued. Today, however, his talents were given full range in this challenging piece by a twentieth century giant among composers. Mr. Chan made the most of the Kirk’s accoustics, as his full rich sound reverberated through the sanctuary. But towards the end of the movement, when the score requires the performer to play on the harmonics of the instrument to produce an ethereal sound, his bow control was superb and his tuning immaculate. I don’t know if Mr. Chan drew on an existing cadenza, or if he composed his own, but I was wanting more!

The final performance, of the Adagio movement from Brahms’ Violin Concerto, Op.77, saw Joella Pinto return to the stage, having performed the Allegro movement last week. The work is so well known, and so loved, that the challenge for the performer is to bring something fresh and interesting to each theme through phrasing and dynamics. And this Ms Pinto did exceptionally well. A superlative ending to this concert, and to the whole series of lunchtime recitals by Tuckamore’s Young Artists.

Finally, a word of appreciation for Patrick Cashin’s participation in these concerts. Year after year, I am amazed at how well he shifts styles from epoch to epoch. He handles orchestral reductions and duo parts with superb professionalism and sensitivity to the other performers’ needs, with never a stumble. Bravo Mr. Cashin!


Tony Chadwick

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