Music Chamber
Concerts
DateOct 28 2010, 1:00 PM
TitleShostakovich Piano Trio No 2 in e, Piazzolla 4 seasons Buenos Aries
LocationSt John's Church, Lansdowne Crescent, W11 2NN
ArtistTrio Twenty21
Trio Twenty21: Craig W. Combs piano, Kalina Dimitrova cello, Mark Pedus violin
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975): The Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67
Andante ~ Allegro con brio ~ Largo ~ Allegretto
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992): Cuatro estaciones porteñas (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires)
Primavera Porteña (1970) Spring
Verano Porteña (1964) Summer
Otono Porteña (1969) Fall
Invierno Porteña (1970) Winter
Trio Twenty21 is a piano trio comprised of members of Twenty21, a larger ensemble specializing in contemporary music with a goal to challenge expectations of live performance juxtaposing the theatrical with the absurd and the spiritual with the mundane. Our repertoire is chosen to entertain as well as enlighten. Trio Twenty21 is Mark Pedus, violin; Kalina Dimitrova, cello; and, Craig W. Combs, piano. The group formed in July 2009 and premiered on March 20, 2010 at The Forge Venue in Camden, London, UK. Subsequent to that performance, the trio attended the International Summer Course at Chateaux Monthureux-le-Sec in the first week of August 2010 culminating in a second full-concert performance. Most recently, the trio performed as a part of the inaugural concert of its parent ensemble, Twenty21. The group’s next scheduled appearance is on December 5, at Kings Place as a part of the new Chamberstudio’s public master class. For more information, see www.twenty21.org.
Violinist Mark Pedus studied at the RNCM with Y. Zivoni and has worked and freelanced with several British and Belgian orchestras. He has played solos with Southbank Symphonia in Italy and Musici Academici, Hortus Instrumentalis, and Kempisch Jeugdorkest in Belgium including Bach Double Concerto and Mozart Violin concerto Nr 3 KV 216. Currently, he performs extensive chamber music with the Dionysus Piano Trio, Trio Twenty21, Toccata-Musical Productions for Charitable Causes, and as the principal 2nd violin for the International Mahler Orchestra. Of French Bulgarian parentage, Kalina Dimitrova studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, completing a Masters in Music Performance in 2002. Her chamber music experience has included masterclasses with the Takasc Quartet and Florestan Trio and coaching with the Ysaye Quartet. She now plays with the Accordi String Quartet and Twenty21. Orchestral playing include performances with the Orchestre des Régions Européennes, the British Philharmonic Orchestra, the International Mahler Orchestra, as extra player for Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Northern Symphonia and regular trips to play with the Cyprus State Orchestra. Chamber Pianist, Craig W. Combs, seeks like-minded artists with which to make music that is a reflection of the human condition. He is Artistic Director for The Paramount Chamber Players, a network of artists in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest; The Combs/Hostetter Piano Duo, a 4-hand piano ensemble and pianist for Twenty21. In 2007, he released the CD, Forbidden Voices: Songs by Jewish Composers Banned by the Nazis with soprano, Judith Sheridan
Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas represents Piazzolla’s nod to Vivaldi and the baroque period. J.S. Bach was a major influence in Piazzolla’s music, represented through his counterpoint and fugues. A porteño is a native of Buenos Aires or more simply a Buenosairean. This composition could also be seen as Piazzolla’s attempt to gain a stronger sense of acceptance from Buenosaireans and Argentineans loyal to traditional tango. During the 1960s, Piazzolla was often confronted by hecklers after concerts who would yell from the audience, “Now that the concert is over – can you play us a tango!” “Invierno Porteño” the “Winter” season opens with a dark melody, reminiscent of winter, stated by the bandoneón (an Argentine accordion) in the original arrangement. The thematic material is then passed off to the violin and piano, eventually making its way back to the bandoneón. “Invierno Porteño” comes to a close with a thematic and harmonic progression strikingly similar to Pachelbel’s famous canon in D, which creates an appropriate musical segue from winter to spring.
This Trio is dedicated to memory of Shostakovich's long time friend and advocate Ivan Sollertinsky - a brilliant, largely self-taught polymath, whose interests and expertise spanned philosophy, linguistics, and arts criticism. The brooding mood of the opening Andante reflects Shostakovich's sense of personal loss as well as the tragic war time events. The piano writing is sparse and transparent with the eerie and strangely effective color created by the cello playing unaccompanied harmonics at the highest end of its range, and the violin playing muted at a much lower altitude. A delicate Russian melody sings mournfully above. The Scherzo is rhythmically relentless, wild and sparkling. The third and fourth movements are linked, separated by ominous staccato notes in the piano. The Largo is cast as a poignant passacaglia, but the constantly recurring element is not a melody, but an eight-bar chordal progression. This leads to the danse macabre-like mood of the final movement that builds to a frenzy, containing some of the most clearly identifiable Jewish folk material of the work. The Trio concludes with cascading piano figuration and reminiscences of fragments from the opening Andante and the piano chords from the passacaglia.