Music and Dance Reviews : Third Installment of Chamber Music/LA

The Chamber Music/LA Festival, 1991, moved into its third phase at the Japan America Theatre Sunday afternoon, with Mozart again teamed with oddly matched companions.

There was a vigorously paced journey through the hothouse of Schoenberg’s “Verklarte Nacht,” with robust if somewhat scrappy climaxes and exceptional, muted delicacy in the coda. First violinist Ik-Hwan Bae displayed a slightly edgy tone throughout the piece, while cellist Nathaniel Rosen contributed much appropriately biting vehemence. The other players were Christiaan Bor (violin), Toby Hoffman and Milton Thomas (violas), and Ronald Thomas (cello).

Chausson’s ultra-Romantic, Franck-drenched Concerto in D for piano, violin and string quartet was treated to the most tightly knit, best-blended ensemble of the afternoon. Jerome Lowenthal’s piano cut cleanly through the quartet of Paul Rosenthal, Yukiko Kamei, Marcus Thompson and Rosen, capturing the ominous developments in the third movement particularly well. Bor’s controlled solo violin zeroed in with intense concentration on the sustained arching lines.

As for Mozart himself, the Duo in G, K. 423, as played by Kamei and Hoffman, fared less well, hampered a bit by some rushing from Kamei and inconsistent intonation.