1 Apr 2009 : NZTrio – Vontasia

Don’t think of comparing this chamber music trio with the traditional picture of a Victorian parlour where relatives and neighbours of the musicians endure an afternoon of tedium, ending it with polite applause and a sprint to the port decanter. NZTrio are three world-class musicians (Sarah Watkins – piano; Ashley Brown – cello; Justine Cormack – violin) who love to play music from all around the world. From the programme I heard they are certainly not hemmed in by any musical boundaries but their amazing ability and versatility enables them to play whatever takes their fancy.

On Sunday afternoon, in the War Memorial Hall Concert Chamber, they treated the small (as usual) but appreciative (naturally) audience to music from the familiar to the extraordinary.

Beginning the recital with Haydn’s Piano Trio in E Minor, NZTrio set a scene for us, letting the piano skip along through the first movement while the strings provided drama; becoming more melodic in the second movement and ending the third with a thunderous and theatrical big finish. That was the familiar and it was incredible.

Second was a two-movement piece by Chen Yi, entitled Tibetan Tunes. This was where the familiar gave way to the strange and, at the risk of sounding like a Philistine, it was not my cup of tea, with or without yak butter. While it no doubt was difficult to learn and play, it was more a combination of sounds rather than music, and very different to the Western ear. It evoked moods and pictures (I saw landscapes) and it was the type of piece where the musicians make the sounds. There was lots of pizzicato and random plucking of strings to near breaking point. Some notes from the violin were possibly too high for this ear to pick up and there was no melody to speak of.

The next piece was a world premiere playing of Entering The Stream by an Indonesian composer called I Wayan Gde Yudane. Again verging on the avant garde, this music was a drama where the instruments cavorted and chatted to each other. The often quite long silences between notes were as much a part of the music as the sounds themselves and the whole piece was impressionistic and emotive.

After intermission (refreshments were provided) the trio began with Shades by Hong Kong composer Mike Yuen. Again, fun to watch it being played as the pianist played notes muted by hand and the violin and cello combined to produce sounds not unlike whale song.

The recital concluded with the impressive Piano Trio no. 1 in D minor by Mendelssohn. Yes, we were back to the familiar and the melodic. Four movements of superb music played by three incredible musicians. The live environment added a dimension to the music and we could watch the intense concentration, dramatic expressions and movements and the blurred fingers of the pianist. We could see the strings being stretched to their limits and the violinist finding notes only a dog can hear while the Dudley Moore-like face of the cellist gave the impression of a man having one hell of a lot of fun.

Shame about the size of the audience, but we’ve come to expect that in Wanganui. As for this reviewer, while I didn’t necessarily like all the music I certainly appreciated the talent and hard world that made it all possible and I enjoyed watching the music being made.

NZTrio – amazing!

Paul Brooks - Wanganui Midweek