They say that some things get better with the passage of time. And then there are some things that just simply get better. A good example was Monday evening’s recital presented by the Carmel Music Society featuring violinist Cho-Liang Lin and pianist Li Jian. After an emotionally cool Beethoven and a somewhat restrained Prokofiev, the recital heated up after intermission with a smashing performance of Lutoslawski’s “Subito” and Richard Strauss’s Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 18.
In the Beethoven Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 12, No. 2, that opened the program, the performers played in fine Beethoven style. As originally published, Beethoven’s violin sonatas were designated for “Piano and Violin,” not “Violin and Piano.” Accordingly, it has increasingly become the custom for pianists to be recognized as equal ensemble partners (although the Carmel Music Society omitted pianist Li Jian’s name from the cover of the printed program) and ensemble pianists now more often play with the lid of the piano all the way up, not closed, as was the custom fifty years ago. There was no question that the performers considered each other as equal partners, and there was also no question that pianist Li Jian is a major pianist in his own right. Fleet of finger and commanding a wide range of dynamics, he is a formidable force at the keyboard.
Cho-Liang Lin is a violinist of patrician refinement and solid musicianship who obviously knows his way around the violin literature. There was an elegance in his playing of the Beethoven Sonata that indicated a love and reverence for the work. Thus, it was a pity that there was a dimension missing that kept it from being a totally convincing and satisfying event. Perhaps had it been on the second half of the recital when the musicians were completely warmed up, it would have been an entirely different performance.
The Prokofiev Sonata No. 1 In F Minor, Op. 80, that followed is one of the very special sonatas in the violin repertoire. I remember hearing it for the first time in 1954 in New Haven, Connecticut, played by David Oistrakh and Vladimir Yampolsky. The eerie sound of the mysterious muted scales suspended over solemn chords in the piano part made a striking impression then that still haunts me today, forty-five years later. Cho-Liang Lin and Li Jian were obviously responsive to the magic in Prokofiev’s score and played it with considerable polish and mastery. Once again, there was a slight feeling of detachment imparting a slight coolness to the performance.
After intermission came one of the most extraordinary performances I have ever heard. Lutoslawski’s Subito for violin and piano is such a compelling piece that I immediately wanted to hear it again. Speaking to the audience, Mr. Lin told us that when he had been a member of the jury of the Indianapolis Violin Competition one year, he had heard this work, a pièce fixée required by all contestants performed sixteen times. He fell in love with it and has subsequently performed it many times himself. It is easy to see why, for this piece is full of bold gestures and striking effects, both for the violin and the piano, which have a compelling cumulative effect. Hearing Mr. Lin in this piece was like hearing a different violinist from the first half. Here was abandoned, fully committed playing that achieved true magic. It was a great performance.
The last work on the program was the Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 18, by Richard Strauss. Here again was solid, great playing of a very high order. Whenever I hear this piece, with its piano part that is so grandiose and so difficult, I always feel that I am hearing a violin concerto with a pianist playing an orchestral reduction. Cho-Liang Lin played with a broad passion and controlled abandon that delighted the senses. Li Jian had his hands full with this cumbersome score, and he played it magnificently. The second movement of this sonata is filled with many moments of tender passion and its lovely melodies evoke memories of old Vienna. Curiously, the finale of Strauss’s score doesn’t make as powerful an effect as the first movement, but both musicians gave it their best
It was stated in the printed program that Mr. Lin plays a Guarneri del Gesu, and this instrument, while sounding a trifle weak in the first half of the program, sounded considerably more robust after intermission. The Carmel Music Society’s new Hamburg Steinway concert grand sounded lovely in this recital.
The musicians treated us to two encores, Ravel’s Pièce en forme de Habenera and Kreisler’s Tempo di Menuetto.
The Carmel Music Society’s next presentation on March 9 will be pianist Heidi Hau, winner of the Society’s Piano Competition last year.
