By Lyn Bronson

Last night at Sunset Center, we heard the Kalichstein/Laredo/Robinson Trio performing three masterpieces, and by the end of the concert, we were convinced that the true masterpiece of the evening was the three musicians themselves. Pianist Joseph Kalichstein, violinist Jaime Laredo and cellist Sharon Robinson were individually playing at the top of their form, but it was as an ensemble that they managed to submerge and blend their personal styles and create an extraordinary ensemble that was a unique blend of professionalism and spontaneity.

Living as we do in the provinces, so to speak, it has become an accepted phenomenon that our metropolitan orchestras during the past fifty years have become virtually pickup orchestras, so if you hear the Monterey Symphony one week, and the Santa Cruz Symphony the following, you will see many of same musicians in both orchestras. You will also observe that there are always new faces appearing in both orchestras, so that it is never quite the same orchestra from concert to concert. A few years ago during a visit to New York City, we had an opportunity to hear the Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. We became aware of an extraordinary degree of refinement and control that we don’t hear in metropolitan orchestras. During fortissimo passages not everyone was playing as loud as they possibly could, and pianissimos were velvety smooth and gorgeous. This high level of controlled performance obviously comes from an ensemble that works regularly together and knows its way around the standard repertoire, and yet can perform a new work with only a few rehearsals.

It is this kind of professionalism that was so striking in last night’s performance by the Kalichstein/Laredo/Robinson Trio. First of all, there is no mistaking the fact that Joseph Kalichstein is a pianist of the first rank — a great pianist! Two of the works we heard last night, Beethoven’s Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 70, No. 1 (“Ghost”), and the Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor, Op. 66, were originally conceived for a much smaller instrument with a light Viennese action totally unlike the heavy leviathan that has evolved into the modern Steinway concert grand —  which is more suited for Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff Concertos.

Kalichstein had his share of big, bold playing last night, although he never overwhelmed the ensemble. The greatest marvel of all was how easy he made it all look. The light pearly passages in the Mendelssohn Trio were awesome as they ripped along with incredible feathery precision. Yet occasionally Kalichstein would errupt into blazing octaves that would have done the Tchaikovsky First Piano Concerto proud, yet once again never overwhelming his partners. Jaime Laredo impressed us with his lovely playing that was full of vitality and refinement, and cellist Robinson produced some big gorgeous sound that was a pure as it was robust. Ultimately it was the fabulous ensemble of these three musicians responding to the music and to each other, undoubtedly much of it carefully worked out in rehearsal, that managed to sound uniquely spontaneous.

There was a lot of magic during this concert. The Beethoven Trio snapped crackled and popped with unrelenting tension during its outer movements and stole its way into our hearts during the intensely felt slow movement. The Mendelssohn Trio was amazing in the fleetness of its faster movements, and in the expressive qualities of the lovely Andante Espressivo. It was difficult to imagine either of these works being played any better.

However, the big and unexpected hit of the evening was the Arensky Trio, a work few in the audience had probably ever heard before, and it was a knockout! Kalichstein was perhaps the star in this work, for the piano part was awesome, but so were the string parts, thus it was a winner all the way. At its conclusion, we heard “bravos” galore and observed a standing ovation from the less restrained members of the audience — and this was only at intermission!

This was the third time that Chamber Music Monterey Bay has presented this trio, and each time it seems more impressive than the previous one. At the end of the concert, after a prolonged ovation with stamping feet and whistles, the musicians gave us one encore: Gershwin’s “Summertime” in an arrangement by Andy Stein. It was lovely.

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