There are flashes of jazz woven into Paul Schoenfield's "Cafe Music."
For good measure, the University of Arizona doctoral alum tossed in a bit of whimsy and an underlying klezmer to create a modern piece that is easily accessible to audiences.
But it is a piece that succeeds only if the trio performing it can make it look simple. The first movement's frivolity must be light and breezy, with hints of intensity that's not fully formed. The players must maintain the intensity of the second without turning it into a somber mud puddle. And for the finale, they need to muster the courage of restraint so that they don't jump the gun and flesh out Schoenfield's frenzy before it has stewed a bit.
On Tuesday night in the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music's season finale, the fledgling Claremont Trio performed "Cafe Music" with the simplistic beauty of child's play.
Pianist Donna Kwong, sitting nearly perfectly upright on her bench, let her fingers glide over the keys with delicate strokes.
It was like watching a ballet dancer pirouette the length of a dance floor.
Cellist Julia Bruskin, her instrument almost towering over her, played with a warm tone that complemented the sweet sound violinist and twin sister Emily Bruskin summoned from the edge of her seat.
There were times in Emily's frenetic playing that she looked to be close to falling off that chair. Across from her, Julia drew her bow in sync with Kwong's key strokes, and all along, the women, Juilliard graduates who have been playing together since 1999, communicated almost on instinct. Aside from quick glances at the start of each movement, they rarely in the 90-minute concert looked at one another, and not once did they fall out of time.
The Claremont Trio also performed Haydn's Piano Trio in C major, which gave Kwong a chance to show off her pianistic virtuosity; and Robert Schumann's four-movement Trio in F major, with its rich harmonies and lyrical passages.
It was perhaps on the Schumann piece that the Claremont Trio shone its brightest. In the fourth movement, the trio employed just the right tempo and energy to flesh out the contrasting melodies that are a cornerstone to the finale.
And it was during this finale that it seemed Emily would fall off her seat. As the energy grew more intense, her play became more energetic. She bounced in her seat, shifting her weight from one side to the other, all the while sitting on the very edge of the chair.
The Claremont Trio's concert in Tucson was one of its last in a nationwide tour as part of winning the first-ever Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson International Trio Award. The Arizona Friends of Chamber Music donated $30,000 for the award, securing the group a concert by the award's winners every two years.
βΒ The Claremont Trio in concert Tuesday at Leo Rich Theatre
