By Erik D. Dyar

[Editor’s note: Unable to attend this concert, I asked Erik Dyar to write a review for PENINSULA REVIEWS. Mr. Dyar, an architect by profession, is also an accomplished pianist who performed a recital in Carmel, California last year.]

After hearing the concert by the Mozart Piano Quartet at the First United Methodist Church in Pacific Grove on Saturday night, presented by Chamber Music Monterey Bay, I was puzzled by the group’s name. I felt they should call themselves the “Brahms Piano Quartet” instead of the “Mozart Piano Quartet” based on their performances of the two works by these composers that they presented. Indeed, in the bio information about the musicians in the concert program, it indicated their specialty was in the Romantic repertoire. In any case, it was an improvement over their previous name, “Ensemble Tiramisu,” for these musicians are certainly more substantial than this light and sweet Italian dessert might suggest.

The musicians opened their performance with the Mozart Piano Quartet in E-Flat, K. 493. What was immediately apparent was the lustrous string tone and fine musicianship displayed by violinist Natalie Chee, violist Harmut Rhode and cellist Peter Hoerr. The sound of pianist, Tamara Anna Cislowska, however, was to some extent obscured by her colleagues, and, I think, by the acoustic nature of the space and perhaps by the use of a 7-foot, Steinway Model B piano, instead of a 9-foot Model D concert grand.

The church is quite high and has a large amount of space, ending in the semi-circular apse, behind the performers. This caused too much of the sound to escape to the rear of the church rather than toward the audience, which was certainly not beneficial to the performance of the Mozart work. Even though this composition does have more extensive interplay between the string instruments and less with the piano than was historically the case, the piano is still the primary instrument among the four. Also, in any piano interpretation of Mozart, what produces an artistic performance rather than a simply competent one is the subtlety of phrasing and dynamics needed to bring out the character of the work. This subtlety certainly requires that the piano be heard clearly, which was a problem on Saturday night for the reasons stated above. I must also say that in this performance, Ms. Cislowska did not demonstrate a natural affinity for Mozart nor exhibit playing to indicate she was a “Mozart specialist,” as the name of the quartet would imply. This was simply competent playing by an unquestionably talented ensemble.

The two pieces concluding the first half of the program fared much better with the musicians seeming to be more in their element. It was also a very interesting bit of programming. The second work was the first movement of a Piano Quartet in A Minor, composed by Gustav Mahler during his student days in Vienna. This work had been lost and was not published until 1964. This concert was its central Coast premiere. This is decidedly a romantic work with rich harmonies, which made us wish Mahler had devoted more of his output to chamber works, instead to larger symphonic compositions. The work did, in fact, have a symphonic feel to it, even though only scored for four instruments, and it elicited a more balanced sound from the ensemble as a whole. As compared with the Mozart, the weightier chords in the piano part, allowed Ms. Cislowska to integrate her sound more effectively with the strings. I think also, because the piano was creating more volume, the acoustical problems observed in the first piece were greatly improved.

Mahler never completed this Quartet, although he did write 24 measures of a Scherzo, intended to be the work’s second movement. Similarly, this sketch was lost until it was rediscovered in the early 1970’s. The composer, Alfred Schnittke, in 1989, completed his “Piano Quartet after a Mahler Sketch” based on this same little Scherzo. Although Schnittke had used works from other composers before, it does seem this tradition of taking a piece of music from another composer and taking it as a point of departure, is unfortunately fairly uncommon among contemporary composers. However, it was a practice utilized by practically all composers from previous eras. Thus, it was indeed satisfying to hear Schnittke’s ruminations on Mahler and hear how a work from the romantic era can be effectively transformed into contemporary musical language. Again the excellent string sound and strong playing by Ms. Cislowska got the most out of these works. One has to thank the Mozart Piano Quartet and Chamber Music Monterey Bay giving this Central Coast audience the opportunity to hear such interesting music, which is so rarely performed.

After intermission the audience was treated to a truly first rate performance of one of the great masterworks of the chamber music repertoire, the Piano Quartet in C Minor, Op. 60 by Johannes Brahms. As mentioned before, the quality of the performers’ interpretation of this work really made the case for them changing their name to the Brahms Piano Quartet.

I would like also to praise the program notes written by Jean Widaman, Ph.D. She gave us excellent background information about all the works heard in this concert, but her notes about Brahms were especially interesting. She mentions the fact that the inspiration for this quartet came at a very difficult time for 23-year old Brahms while his mentor and friend, Robert Schumann, was descending into madness, culminating eventually in his death in an asylum. This quartet was then revised, expanded and completed 35 years later at a time when Brahms was at the height of his compositional powers. These circumstances reinforce the melancholy character of this work, especially in the first movement. The Mozart Piano Quartet played this highly emotional music with intensity and passion. I especially enjoyed the quicker tempo (much faster than what I was familiar with) in the first movement.

The group’s heartbreaking rendition of the Andante was exceptional. Peter Hoerr’s, beautiful cello tone and strong, musical phrasing in this movement was especially fine. I was reminded of Brahms’s use of the solo cello in the slow movement of his B-Flat Piano Concerto—it was certainly used to great effect here as well. The audience was so taken by the performance of this movement that many broke out into spontaneous applause at its end. Unfortunately, the transition from the end of this Andante into the beginning of the final movement is an extremely beautiful part of the work and it was spoiled by this outburst, however well intentioned. Thankfully, the Quartet’s wonderful playing of the final Allegro commodo movement did make one forget this interruption rather quickly.

The audience brought the group back with a standing ovation to perform an encore, for which they chose, appropriately, the third movement, Andante cantabile, of Robert Schumann’s Piano Quartet in E-flat, Op. 47. The thought that the previous Brahms’ Quartet had been completed with the fond, but melancholy remembrance of this man and his work made listening to this gorgeous piece of music, even more powerful. The Mozart Piano Quartet played this movement with such tenderness and sensitivity, it made me think they also might have been feeling this same sensation. It made for a very satisfying ending to Chamber Music Monterey Bay’s regular season.