Last Friday, the Amici chamber music ensemble gave a concert of Hungarian folk music at the famous Glenn Gould Studio at the CBC. Formed in 1985 by three talented musicians (Joaquin Valdepenas, David Hetherington, and Patricia Parr), the ensemble has won Juno Awards, and received effusive praise from the press, such as the Globe and Mail, which declared, “the Amici ensemble has become one of the most reliable and amiable purveyors of chamber music in town.” Their goals are to explore, discover, and perform the vast repertoire of chamber music, and the group performs widely and has recorded six CDs.
And so with much to be expected of them in concert, they delivered with their performance of Hungarian music. The programme for the night included works by Bela Bartok and Johannes Brahms. Bartok was a 20th century Hungarian composer who is quite famous for collecting Eastern European folk songs. Brahms, who wasn’t Hungarian at all, was a romantic composer quite moved, late in his life, by Hungarian Gypsy themes.
The first concert pieces were a set of Hungarian Folk Melodies by Bartok performed by violinist Scott St. John and cellist David Hetherington. Both performers played the light folk melodies with emotional vigor and strength. Following them, Ida Kavafian (violin), and Patricia Parr (piano) played the technically challenging Bartok Violin Sonata No 2. The Sonata is quite original, and demands innovative playing, which both performers exhibited. The last piece of the night was the famous Brahms Clarinet Quintet. This was played by all the Amici performers; Joaquin Valdepenas, Ida Kavafian, Scott St. John, David Hetherington, and Max Mandel. And like all the other pieces, this was played with emotional and dynamic bravery.
Bravery is the most distinctive feature of this ensemble. The group is certainly willing to pour their hearts out to be original in their interpretations, even if it means sacrificing a few technical aspects of the piece. This kind of perspective on performance is found in only a few music groups these days.
What’s more, the group has a U of T connection-violinist Scott St. John was appointed last spring as assistant professor of violin and viola at the Faculty of Music, as well as the coordinator of the chamber music series. He has been successful in leading both teaching and performance careers, communicating through the classroom and his violin the passion and expression of music.
The ensemble is committed to students, with special ticket prices-their subscription rate of $25/season is a steal compared to any other classical music group in the city. Their per-concert rate of $10 is also quite low, matching the price of the TSO’s tsoundcheck concerts.
The spirit of Hungary was delivered last Friday to an excited audience at the Glenn Gould. Hungarian music, known for its vitality and spirit, was showcased suitably by an ensemble reflecting those values. Amici bids farewell to Hungary for the season, and prepares for their January concert of French music.
