South Florida Classical Review

Miami was packed with traffic Sunday afternoon, as the Miami Concours and the International Boat Show coincided on Valentine’s Day weekend. Amid this clamor, the New World Symphony’s chamber music matinee presented a welcome oasis in the heart of South Beach. 

In this concert series, NWS fellows consistently present staples from the established classical canon alongside unfailingly interesting and engaging lesser-known works.

The concert was intended to be led by violist of the Berlin Philharmonic, Amihai Grosz. However, an injury prevented Grosz from traveling. Instead, Jodi Levitz, professor at the Frost School of Music, stepped in to perform with the symphony’s fellows. Works by Bloch and Takemitsu were jettisoned yet the partly revised program’s nocturnal theme resonated with Levitz’s recent project dedicated to serenades.

The program opened with A Night Piece by Arthur Foote, played by flutist Jamie Kim accompanied by an ample group of NWS string fellows. Foote was a crucial figure at a time when virtually all American classical composers received their musical training in Germany. Along with a group of composers known today as the “Boston Six,” he helped to establish an American classical music tradition as well as transform early conservatories into internationally acclaimed academic institutions.

A Night Piece does not require much virtuosic brilliance, yet such showmanship was not missed. Kim’s tone glistened like fine champagne as she threaded it between the interwoven string lines. The work proved absolutely charming, full of personality, and set the tone for the afternoon.

The concert continued with Antonín Dvořák’s Piano Trio No. 3 in F minor, Op. 65. The performance was generally well-mannered, with violinist Archer Brown’s Brahmsian directness, well supporting the work’s sprawling proportions. 

A Schumannesque wildness emerges in the finale with massive chords interrupting the music’s momentum toward a conclusion. Piano fellow Noah Sonderling provided apt if sometimes overly choreographed drama to the important moments, and Alexander Wu brought charisma to the somewhat underutilized cello part.

The most impressive work of the afternoon was a short piece for brass quintet called Night-Shining White by composer Zhou Tian. Inspired by a Tang dynasty ink painting of a white horse, the work showcases the instruments’ rich sonic capabilities: expansive lyricism, impetuous rhythmic drive, and bright as well as beefy brass sonorities. 

Xin He’s opening horn solo provided a new sonic dimension to the concert. She was joined by trumpeters Jack Farnham and Richard Stinson, trombonist Austin Canon, and tuba fellow Bridget Conley. The ensemble displayed an astounding expressive range, aided by their impeccable intonation and remarkable ability to match each other’s timbre.

Levitz joined NWS fellows Connor Chaikowsky, Morgan Bennett, and David Olson in Ravel’s phantasmic string quartet. Levitz brought out the best qualities of Ravel’s music, the refined sophistication alongside a bone-chilling strangeness. Ravel himself publicly stated that his “greatest teacher in composition was Edgar Allan Poe.” 

The quartet sounded nearly orchestral, a testament both to Ravel’s magnificent instrumental writing and to the chemistry between the musicians. The most special moment of the concert came with the evocatively scored second movement where different passages seem to move at independent speeds, much like the gears of a clock. The fellows’ command of these remarkable peculiarities made this performance a highlight of the program.

Stéphane Denève leads the New World Symphony in Ravel’s Mother Goose, Anna Clyne’s PALETTE and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition March 1 and 2. nws.edu

Posted in Performances

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