(Editor's Note: Because of a scheduling conflict, I asked David Beech to review the following concert. Mr. Beech is a retired computer scientist who lives in Monterey. He is a clarinetist and occasional pianist. His mother was a pianist who brought him up to revere the playing of Solomon. Other great pianists that he has heard and admired over the years include Cortot, Myra Hess, Arrau, Katchen, Curzon, Brendel, Lupu, Ashkenazy, Cherkassky, and Perahia.)
Vasil Galiubin, pianist, Victoria Gorbich, violinist, and Vladislav Gorbich,clarinetist
A highly enjoyable program was presented by the Ekaterinburg Classical Trio on Thursday evening, March 27, at Le Petit Trianon, San Jose. Ekaterinburg is San Jose's Russian sister city, and this trio of graduates from the Ural State Conservatory there consists of the rare combination of clarinet, violin and piano – the clarinetist and violinist being husband and wife. There are few major classical works for this instrumentation, the most notable being the Khachaturian Trio and Milhaud Suite, which this group has recorded (more of this anon) but did not include in the concert under review. Hence we heard mostly shorter pieces of a serenade or salon character, but given strongly musical performances. The Kat Trio, as they like to be known in their lighter offerings, also includes settings of hymns and of American popular standards in their repertoire. It would be exciting in future to hear them perform with equal conviction the contemporary classical works written by many composers for the Verdehr Trio, the best-known trio of this kind.
The Ekaterinburg Trio played with complete unanimity of purpose, with excellent ensemble and intonation, and largely solved the problems of balance posed by the similar compass but dissimilar timbre of the violin and clarinet (composers have generally preferred to use viola or cello in trios with clarinet and piano). The overall impression was of the players reveling in the friendly acoustics of Le Petit Trianon (the gorgeous sound surpassing even that on their recordings), and communicating in a very extrovert way with the small but enthusiastic audience.
The clarinetist, Vladislav Gorbich, has a memorable tone quality, full-bodied with fruity and brilliant overtones (yes, like a fine wine), which he projects with strongly supported air flow, expressive phrasing and articulation, and considerable body language - which used to be eschewed on the classical stage but is now used in recital by, for example, Karl-Heinz Steffens, principal clarinet of the Berlin Philharmonic. As his solo, Vladislav gave a fine rendering of the first movement of the nineteenth-century concerto by Krommer, although straying a little out of period towards a jazzy style near the end (Jack Brymer remains more poised in his fine 1960s recording). The piano reduction of the orchestral part was also well played.
Victoria Gorbich is an accomplished violinist with strong characterization of differing styles, and a rich tone on the lower strings, shown to good effect in the slow and fast movements of her solo, the Czardas by Vittorio Monti. Likewise, the G string melody opening the trio's arrangement of Brahms' 5th Hungarian Dance, the swaying phrases of Dvorak's 2nd Slavonic Dance, and the moods of Glazunov's Entr'acte were eloquently rendered.
Pianist Vasil Galiulin conjured a warm sound from the piano even in occasional thunderous passages, and displayed a delightful rhythmic sense and clean articulation (with a highly arched hand position). For his solo, he performed the opening Allegro of Beethoven's C major Sonata Opus 2 No. 3 with the kind of radical impulsiveness that one could imagine the composer bringing to it when it was hot off the press – exciting playing indeed. Other fine contributions included the orchestral reduction to Sibelius' Finlandia, the long-striding heroic Romance of Sviridov, and the piano-concerto-like arrangement of Tchaikovsky's Romance.
The program began with the Serenade for Three by Peter Schikele (of PDQ Bach fame), and here the first two movements, Dances and Songs, made a surprisingly powerful serious impression before the fun of the final Variations. A Romance by Rachmaninov was movingly authentic in feeling, and the arrangement of the early seventeenth-century Ave Maria by Caccini had nobility and a few intriguing dissonances. The Shostakovitch Prelude, Gavotte, and Valse revealed the composer’s humorous neo-classical side.
Other works after the intermission included The Easy Winners of Scott Joplin played with style and a fine sound, and a compelling arrangement of Jerome Kern's Smoke Gets in your Eyes, with its ever-fascinating melody and piano harmonies. Finally the trio passed around a hat between the players as each took their turn in Jay Unger's Ashokan Farewell. They would have been justified in passing it also around the grateful audience.
For those who missed the concert, many of the works in this program are included in the trio's CDs, such as Serenade for Three and 20th Century Masters (Earth Records). Selections may be played via the group's web site at www.thekattrio.net.
