MUSIC AND DANCE REVIEWS : YUVAL TRIO IN TEMPLE ISRAEL CONCERT

The cold, cavernous, brightly lit Temple Israel of Hollywood proved a rather distracting setting at the fourth Sherrill C. Corwin Concert on Saturday. Distracting for the players--Israel’s Yuval Trio--as well as the listeners.

Violinist Uri Pianka and cellist Simca Heled appeared frustrated between movements, continually retuning or struggling (in vain) to quell audience applause. Meanwhile, pianist Jonathan Zak had to make due with a muddy-sounding instrument.

Yet this veteran ensemble made the best of it, presenting a program carefully chosen to match the setting: the Trio No. 2 by Shostakovich, written in memory of those who died in a Soviet concentration camp during World War II, the Trio No. 2 by Mendelssohn, who--we were reminded by Zak--came from a Jewish family, and, for good measure, a work by Israeli composer Daniel Shalit.

The latter proved a mild diversion. Written for the Yuval in 1972, (Shalit is the brother of cellist Heled), and heard in its West Coast premiere, the three-movement Divertimento is light, undemanding--and perfectly titled. Leaning heavily toward early Gershwinesque syncopations, particularly a gentle tango, the music bounces merrily and innocuously along.

In contrast, the entries by Shostakovich and Mendelssohn loomed imposingly. Each received energetic, committed performances, muted somewhat by the thin tone of the strings. (In fairness, the hall must receive part of the blame.) The Mendelssohn, in particular, benefited from spirited playing: The blistering Scherzo seemed held together only by the sheer virtuosity of the players.

A bubbly Haydn rondo served as the encore.