by Donna Kline
There are times when
hearing a concert in an intimate space is more suitable to an inspired musical
performance, as opposed to the large venues we occupy today. Such was the
concert heard June 24 in Tiburon’s cozy St. Hilary Church, part of the Tiburon
Music Festival, when pianist Paul Smith led cellist Farley Pearce, violinists
Pamela Carey and Susannah Barley, and flutist Carol Adee
in stunning performances of four virtuoso works by Beethoven, Mozart and Korngold.
The program opened with the Overture to “Prometheus” by Beethoven, reworked for
small orchestra by the composer’s contemporary Johann Hummel (1778-1837). This
was followed by Mozart’s early Concerto for Piano in E Flat, K. 107, also a
reworking but this time from a piano sonata by Johann Christian Bach
(1732-1795). Both works were beautifully performed and set the mood and spirit
for the evening. Smith’s brief chats prior to each piece explored the customs
of the time where reworking large orchestra works for smaller halls made their
performance more accessible to audiences of the era.
Perhaps the most brilliantly performed compositions of concert were the final
two pieces, Erich Korngold’s Suite for Piano (left
hand) and Strings, Op. 23, and Mozart’s Piano Concerto in D-minor, K. 466.
Composed in 1930, the Suite was commissioned by the Austrian pianist, Paul
Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm in World War I. Smith’s performance,
deftly supported with a small group (two violins and cello), was a true tour
de force reading. Other than his vibrant film
scores, the Violin Sonata and the opera Die Tote Stadt,
little Korngold is now performed, and special thanks
is due to Smith for his daring programming. It is indeed less corn and more
gold.
The D-Minor Piano Concerto, from 1785, is one of Mozart’s most performed
concertos, and in the Hummel arrangement Smith’s fine reading, backed by the
orchestra’s suave accompaniment, brought out the spirit of the Mozart’s sublime
creation. The second-movement Romanze was
particularly well played, the strident second theme in G Minor contrasting the
peaceful ending. It should be noted that Smith did not play the cadenzas Hummel
composed for the concerto, but instead used the cadenzas written by the
Bay-area pianist and composer, Julian White.
The concert, the fourth in the Festival’s second season, was well attended and
clearly this new Festival is prospering with the schedule guided by St. Hilary
producers Vincent Stadlin and Kenneth Graham. More
seasons are certainly desirable.