In 1855, Johannes Brahms stood at the end of his tether. Overcome by lovesickness for Clara Schumann, he floundered, driven to near suicide by the hollow feeling that remained in the pit of his stomach. His only solace came through work. He completed the early sketches of what would become the D Minor Piano Concerto and material for his Piano Quartet in C Minor, which he finished 20 years later.
From his more balanced middle age, Brahms recalled his early 20s as his Werther years. He admitted as much to his publisher in 1875, when he jokingly asked that the figure of a man wearing blue coat, yellow breeches, and top hat, with pistol to temple, should adorn the cover of his C Minor Piano Quartet. The music contained in those pages even named the object of his despair: transposition of Robert Schumann’s special motive and statement of an accompanying sighing figure all but cry out Clara’s name.
The quartet might seem an odd fit for a festive occasion. But Barry Shiffman, violist and curator of the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, revels in the work’s expansive form and emotional turbulence. Joined by violinist Chee-Yun Kim, cellist Colin Carr, and pianist Jon Kimura Parker, he rang in the festival’s 45th-anniversary season Friday night at the Shalin Liu Performance Center by looking squarely into inner darkness.
From beginning to end, the musicians explored every emotional shade from morbid contemplation to fiery angst. Shiffman’s brusque viola tone complemented the silvery resonance from Kim’s violin and the amber hues of Carr’s cello. But Parker, playing on the hall’s new Steinway, provided a sturdy anchor as the ensemble descended into the sonic and psychological depths. Clear and powerful, Parker’s instrument could be felt as much as heard. His low open octaves made the strings’ haunted aura resound with sheer force.
Tension also roiled from the quartet’s opening bars. The musicians unleashed every ounce of urgency. Figures in the Scherzo churned like a storm offshore, growing fiercer with each passing moment. The Andante brought brief moments of lyricism. But there was little repose in the inevitable clash between strings and piano in the otherwise solemn passages. The musicians laid bare the finale’s emotional tidal waves. Here, too, there was little valediction. If hearing this music thrust us into Brahms’s desperate state, Shiffman and company made each mood swing feel immediate and unyielding.
Anton Arensky’s String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, an homage to Tchaikovsky, felt somber and reverential by comparison. The heart of this score contains variations built upon “Legend” from Tchaikovsky’s Sixteen Songs for Children, Op. 54. Seven variations establish moods ranging from serenity to playfulness, though the overall effect remains reserved. The first movement opens with a Russian orthodox chant that sets a funereal tone. The boisterous finale, built upon a patriotic air, brings everything to a bold conclusion—a fitting memorial for Tchaikovsky.
The quartet’s unusual combination of violin, viola, and two cellos only enhances the emotional gravity. The opening chant flickered in the muted strings. Cellist Mira Kardan answered Carr’s assured tone with a sound that rounded out the ensemble’s appropriately rough sonority.
But the musicians milked every phrase with generous rubato shading. Their hymnic sonority gave way to colorful delights in the variations: the third variation sounded warm and resonant, the driving second took on just enough of a rough edge, and the inverted theme the seventh unfolded spaciously. The return of the opening chant cast a pall before the finale erupted in joyous glee.
Parker has opened the concert with Brahms’s Three Intermezzi, Op. 117. Though inspired by lullabies, these familiar works date near the end of the composer’s life. Because of that, this music channels a kind of soulful resignation.
But Parker approached them with more veneration than old-age longing. Phrases in the E-flat major Intermezzo sounded stately even through Parker’s generous use of the sustain pedal. The B-flat minor Intermezzo delved back into the darkness, though his crystalline figures in the upper register shed brief rays of light. The Intermezzo in C-sharp minor generated an unexpected distance and warmth. Brahms may have once considered Werther’s fate, the music seems to say. But he ultimately embraced life in all its pleasure and pain.
Aaron Keebaugh’s work has been featured in The Musical Times, Corymbus, The Classical Review, Early Music America, BBC Radio 3, and the Arts Fuse, for which he writes regularly about classical music. A musicologist, Aaron teaches at North Shore Community College in Danvers and Lynn.
Mr Brodie, I completely concur that it’s either in tune, or not. Acoustics won’t obscure true pitch. But I stand by my comment that the SLPC acoustic is the sonic equivalent of klieglights or even laser beams. Blemishes can look worse in such bright light, musical blemishes likewise seem worse in an unforgiving acoustic. Hence things like hearing aid tones or dropping a program booklet seem magnified.
Comment by Meckbesser — June 17, 2026 at 2:47 pm
Pitch intonation in music comes in two states: either you are “in tune” or you aren’t. Just like pregnancy. Once that sonic seed has been planted for better or for worse, there’s no going back. Although out-of-tuneness may vary in intensity and its audibility may even be space-dependent, any degree of the malediction, especially from professional musicians, is unfortunate.
Comment by Jonathan Brodie — June 17, 2026 at 1:50 pm
As beautiful as it is, the Shalin Liu’s acoustics are quite unforgiving. Unforgiving in the sense that the clarity and immediacy of the sound, anyplace in the hall, can exacerbate and exaggerate timbral qualities- occasionally for better, but more often for worse. Bad intonation can seem worse because of said immediacy. Perhaps an acoustic evaluation could be requisitioned to see how to give the room more ‘cushion’ and a more reverberant quality. This is tough to do with limited cubic volume and height, but not impossible.
Comment by Meckbesser — June 17, 2026 at 7:26 am
Notwithstanding Mr. Keebaugh’s review, I thought the Opening Night concert in Rockport was an extremely mixed bag. This was the first time I had heard Jon Kimura Parker live, and to be honest he didn’t make a particularly favorable impression on this listener over the entire course of the evening. He seems to always pull his punches and I didn’t find a very wide range of expression in his playing. That approach can certainly work (think Paul Lewis), but Mr. Parker’s playing just came across as dull. He wasn’t helped in the opening Brahms Op. 117 works, because someone’s hearing aid was malfunctioning and emitting an unpleasant high-pitched squeal throughout 75% of the Op. 117 pieces, which further damaged the performance.
I hate to say this, but I thought the Arensky String Quartet was poorly done. It was played at a substandard level that was shocking to hear for this regular Rockport attendee, with some incredibly problematic intonation from cellist Colin Carr especially and to a much lesser extent (yet shockingly) from Barry Shiffman, whose playing is normally stellar and often at a standout level. Mr. Carr had a very off night overall. Even the lead violinist had a few moments of rather unpleasant tone in the Arensky. There was one point in the 1st movement where the performers played a chord in unison, and it was badly out of tune in a very jarring way. This was the first time I had ever heard the Arensky work, and it didn’t make me want to hear it again. Perhaps I would have had a different reaction with a different performance.
As much as the first half of the program was a tremendous disappointment, the second half was every bit what one comes to expect from Rockport. The Brahms Piano Quartet was tremendous. Very quickly, it became clear that the limited rehearsal time the performers had went towards the Brahms, not the Arensky. Most of the intonation problems were gone (although Colin Carr still had a few moments). The playing was involved, fully emotionally engaged (even if Mr. Kimura Parker played with a level of restraint that was at odds with his colleagues’ approach), passionate, and really well done. THIS is the standard we go to Rockport to hear, and it was a relief to hear it in this work so as to salvage the evening.
Comment by Mogulmeister — June 15, 2026 at 10:04 am