Among the remnants of Provincetown’s Halloween revels, the Tristan Trio shone in spirited chamber music by Beethoven, Higdon, and Mendelssohn. From tender to thrilling, the musicians showed an exceptionally vast emotional range, with solid individual virtuosity and deep dramatic ensemble commitment.
In a concert organized by Red Door Chamber Music, the Trio took the stage in the cozy, welcoming Provincetown United Methodist Church. My string-player friends, violinist Thomas Cooper and cellist Tyler Michael James, joined Croatian pianist Aljoša Jurinić in two cornerstones of the chamber repertoire with a modern interlude.
In Beethoven’s Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 70 No. 1, often nicknamed the “Ghost” Trio, all three musicians proclaimed a bold opening D-major statement, raucously romping about, reaching a sudden uncertain F, and swirling back into joy. The group found a wide spectrum from big explosions of sound to airy whispers. Murmuring notes in all instruments danced with clear definition, even through Beethoven’s signature heavy low left-hand figures. In the development, alternating episodes of anxiety and assuredness took turns before a blazing recapitulation. A gentle, caressing respite, softly flowing, preceded an enthusiastic return to the main theme.
The opening of the famous middle movement was grave, liminal, barely there at all; sul tasto filaments stirred against quietly ringing piano chords, soft watercolors haunting the air. Mournful, lamenting melodies rose to heights harsh in decisive torment and passion. Grounded in rumbling piano figures, the music reached a C major, at first celebratory, then somewhat unsettled and cautious. James’s plaintive, melancholic tone elevated this movement to powerful heights, calling to us empathetically. The trio found a full palette with massive shifts in mood. A ray of sunlight in D major was quickly dispelled by cloudy, churning harmonies, with such supple subito pianos that sometimes I doubted the existence of the ethereal sounds; pizzicatos punctuated in solemn acceptance.
Fortunately, the final movement found us back in good cheer. Cooper’s long violin lines joyously sang out with rich, ardent feeling. The trio found keen dramatic timing in both little bends of time and full fermatas. It was lovely to watch this mercurial conversation of motifs among the three voices. In this final movement, the trio successfully completed the piece’s wide musical arc from ghostly transparency to vivacious certainty, here absolutely alive.
The Tristan Trio gave us both intimate divulgences and massive exclamations in a broad range of moods. Occasionally the ensemble frayed a bit, with some off-center attacks in slow parts or slightly askew coordination in faster passages. Generally, however, the players found themselves in lockstep for many pushes and pulls in tempo, and the bold unisons were always consistent. Their great dramatic commitment to Beethoven’s visions was greatly convincing.
Jennifer Higdon’s Pale Yellow served as a brief palate-cleanser. The piano blotted the canvas with shifting chords, dancing as shades of light. The cello, then violin entered, intoning in chant-like holiness. A gentle peace flowed in bittersweet seconds and sevenths, stinging yet sweet. String arabesques spun and twirled, growing outwards and reaching into the air, singing, then suddenly falling to a peaceful end. This brief, introverted glimpse into a contemporary soundworld left me wanting more ― and in fact, there is more, as Higdon’s trio has a second movement in Fiery Red ― but it was a suitably light counterweight to the two chamber giants around it.
While introducing Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 2 in C Minor, James hyped up the audience for what he called “one of the best climaxes in chamber music.” Would the trio deliver?!
In a stormy introduction to the first movement, the piano and following string figures bubbled ominously, sneaking, undulating, thorny. Jurinić pulled off Mendelssohn’s lightning-quick 16ths with grace and clarity, yet always with an eye for long phrasing. The second theme soared passionately, full-voiced, then repeated itself tentatively yet sweetly in the piano. Seas of turbulent waves crashed and calmed, always with inevitable momentum. A foggy period of respite gave way to a genuine sorrow at heart, before a flare of pain ― though not yet final ― the pleading second theme returned, then the door closed with a decisive, tragic ending.
A somber piano chorale proceeded matter-of-factly, joined by comforting, lilting, rocking strings, expanding into stronger tones, demanding and gripping attention. Urging ever onwards, Cooper found a beautifully gliding tone as high melodies cried out, compelling us to share in this urgent appeal to truth. An especially luscious slide on a repeated high E-flat, tasteful and deadly sweet, sealed the deal.
The scherzo raced in breakneck pace, ecstatically fun and with flowing groove. Perhaps a little too fast ― a couple breaks in rhythmic unity occurred, and I lost a sense of phrasing through the sixteenths in this crazy tempo. Nevertheless, the individually strong execution and the joyous dramatic character carried the day. A pompous trio strutted out, perhaps a little goofy, before returning to the scherzo, with some great ricochets in the bows and crystal-clear piano runs. The movement finished with a twinkling of the eyes in mischievous pizzicato.
The main theme of the final movement resonates in a striking upward leap of a ninth, followed by downwards steps. Every time this motif returned, the players gave this dramatic gesture its due, with dire, intense feeling, sometimes stretching in time to emphasize the effect. As with the first movement, a vivid, searing second theme burst out in deep fervor. Then a piano chorale ensued, gentle, hallowed, quoting “Praise be to You, Jesus Christ”, interspersed with little string interjections. From lachrymose soberness, the music grew, boiling, energizing, frantically accelerating, pealing out, a wonderful slide up to a high A-flat ringing out, before finally reaching the central theme now in major ― we made it!! A hard-earned turn in fortune arrived, weights lifted from our chests, a paean now of peace. The energy spiraled up into a festive dance. Victorious and uplifting, capped off by a splendid high C, the finale of this trio rose in stunning affirmation.
Throughout the evening, the Tristan Trio showed excellent emotional storytelling, from furtive mutterings to zealous eruptions. Sometimes their coordination faltered, with some disorientation around slow unisons or fast passages. And though everyone fully embraced the extreme dynamic ranges, in the medium ranges, sometimes the two strings differed in exactly how mezzo piano or mezzo forte the music wanted to be. Still, these are all solvable problems for a trio in its second concert. The three will no doubt refine and develop their ensemble sound.
Jurinić approached the keys with lucid agility, expertly clearing demanding rapid-fire runs even on the modern instrument, as well as soothingly tranquil chorales and dirges. Cooper’s bright, singing timbre created many high points in the evening, lending heartfelt furor to many climaxes. James’s soulful, lyrical tone glowed especially in the warmer, melodious passages, while still maintaining integrity in quick rhythms and wild outbursts. Altogether, the trio created a veritable rollercoaster of affects and atmospheres together, and I’d gladly get back in line.
As a final note, the ghostly Beethoven, amorphous Higdon, and tempestuous Mendelssohn worked surprisingly well together for a concert right on the heels of Provincetown’s Halloween festivities. Cooper claimed that the choice of this “ghost” program on Halloweekend was a coincidence, but certainly the spirits of our friends Ludwig, Jennifer, and Felix lived large in Provincetown that evening.
The Tristan Trio is planning more performances for next spring, and in the summer, they will join the faculty of the Montecito International Music Festival in California. The Red Door Chamber Music series continues in January with “Echoes of Romance,” featuring music by Brahms and Saint-Saëns, and in March with a residency by the Boston String Academy.