By Susan Paynter
On Saturday evening, November 17, Emmanuel hosted the fifth season opener of the Chatham Concert Series and post-concert reception. Playing to a house of about 75, the ever-popular Rainier Trio and returning Clarinetist Alex Jones presented a program of Romantic European and Contemporary American chamber music.
Making up the Rainier Trio are the series’ Artistic Director
Kevin Matheson on violin, his brother Bryan Matheson on viola and Brenda
Wittwer on piano. Alex Jones plays first
clarinet for the Pittsburgh Philharmonic.
The foursome began and ended the program with romantic masterpieces. A trio by German composer Carl Reinecke began the program. The final piece was a quartet by Viennese composer Walter Rabl: his Opus 1. Interestingly, the Reinecke trio was written in the composer’s 79th year, and the Rabl composition (the opus number is a hint) was written at the beginning of Rabl’s career. While one was a veteran and the other a novice, both composers were writing at peak performance.
Peak performance is also what the musicians brought to the music. The Matheson brothers are always a delight. Both are top performers technically and artistically, but to watch them is to see the differences: Bryan plays in a straightforward, matter-of-fact style and Kevin in a more emotive fashion. Differing styles aside, when you close your eyes their strings marry so beautifully, their combined sound is so rich, strong and complementary that it seems to spring from a single source.
Sandwiched between the Europeans was the music of two contemporary American composers: Peter Schickele and Rick Sowash. This writer’s preference was for the less complicated more soulful Sowash. It was his Daweswood Suite, written while Sowash was composer in residence at Ohio’s Daweswood Arboretum. Inspired by the budding, blossoming and bearing of the trees there, Sowash wrote this lovely meditation on the endless cycles of life.
The musicians performed beautifully on both. The Schickele may have been more demanding, and Jones, Wittwer and Kevin Matheson managed it with great skill. The Sowash seemed (undoubtedly deceptively) to simply flow organically from the four instruments of the Matheson brothers, Wittwer and Jones.
Brenda Wittwer must be the other musicians’ dream
pianist. She plays with grace and
precision and -- though capable of great flourish -- she never upstages. She plays in
concert with the other artists.
This was a return engagement for Alex Jones as well. He was back by popular demand, and there’s no surprise there. Does any instrument exceed the clarinet for versatility of mood? With Jones’ skill (and lung capacity!) and with this particular program, attendees had a chance to hear this wind instrument put through its emotional paces.
The Chatham Concert Series has an important and charming tradition. As often as possible, a young music student is invited to perform one piece. It’s not only valuable performance experience for the student; it’s a gift to the future of fine art music in Southside Virginia.
The student performer this evening was Chatham resident Trevor
Percario, 11. Trevor attends Epiphany
School and is a piano student of Susan Barrett via Chatham Arts. He played J.S. Bach’s Minuet in G Major and
did an admirable job. Bravo, Trevor!
After the concert, attendees enjoyed a reception in the social hall. Music lovers were able to chat with the musicians, friends and neighbors over drinks and hors d’oeuvres.
Emmanuel Church is pleased to serve, along with Chatham First, as venue and facilitator of the Chatham Concert Series.
The next concert will be held on Friday evening, January 11. The program will be “Music for Flute, Harp and Strings: Celtic to French Impressionism,” featuring Roanoke Symphony Flutist Julie Hickcox and Greensboro Symphony Principal Harpist Helen Rifas. Also performing: the Matheson brothers’ Classic Strings Duo.