Johannes Brahms & Joseph Joachim, a gathering of musical minds evoked

The Aula is a good-looking early Nineteenth century corridor, given to the college to have fun its centenary by William IV, King of Hanover and King of Nice Britain. The corridor’s rear wall was hung with portraits of George II, George IV and William IV, plus a bust of George III, all Kings of Hanover and Kings of Nice Britain, and portraits of Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover and Duke of Cumberland (Queen Victoria’s uncle), and Emperor Wilhelm I of Prussia, reflecting Göttingen’s place as a part of the Kingdom of Hanover and the switch of energy to Prussia as a part of the unification of Germany.

Chai performed a good-looking Viennese piano of the interval and Sato, former creative director and concert-master of the Netherlands Bach Society, performed a period-appropriate violin. However what interval although? After the interval, earlier than the Handel sonata, Sato performed a passage from the sonata in Baroque model on his Baroque instrument, after which in Nineteenth-century model on the instrument he was utilizing for the live performance, contrasting appropriate 18th-century model in Handel with the way in which Joachim may need performed it. The end result was illuminating. All through the night, we seen Sato’s discreet use of portamento, his candy singing tone, and his inclusion of vibrato in his expressive armoury.

Sato started with the Chaconne from Bach’s Partita No. 2, a particular work in Joachim’s repertoire; he was one of many first violinists to carry out this music with out an added accompaniment. Sato made a really full sound, filled with vigour and strenuous power. This was about Sato’s expressive phrasing slightly than any underlying dance-like ingredient, with vibrant tone and an exquisite vary of colors.

Subsequent got here Joachim’s personal Romanze for violin and piano, a piece that was new in 1853. It was a considerably salon-ish piece with Sato’s elegant violin line over a flowing, busy piano. The piano’s tone was gentle, silvery nearly. The music had some gypsy-ish moments but additionally evocations of Robert Schumann (one other Joachim admirer). Joachim and Clara Schumann would have an extended musical partnership (together with enjoying the Beethoven sonatas) and Clara’s personal late romances for violin and piano had been written for Joachim.

The primary half ended with Mozart’s Sonata in B, written in 1784 for an Italian violinist in Vienna. It started with robust violin gestures echoed by extra delicate piano responses. Sato’s violin line sang over Chai’s silvery passage-work, but each introduced robust character to the music. Within the second motion it was Sato’s fascinating use of portamento and articulation that caught my consideration and the contrasts in timbre between the devices. For the finale, Sato and Chai fashioned a high-quality double act, each performing with model and character.

Through the interval we had fascinating conversations with two native viewers members, each happy with the college’s wealthy historical past and capable of illuminate to the complexities of the interlinking of Hanoverian and British historical past.

Handel’s Sonata in A was written round 1725/26 and revealed because the composer’s Opus 2. Each Brahms and Joachim had been taken with ‘Early’ music, it was a thread that will would by a lot of Brahms’ compositional output. Right here, Sato and Chai gave us an evocation of the model of efficiency of Handel that Brahms and Joachim may need given. 

The opening motion featured Sato’s elegant, vibrato-coloured singing tone and Chai’s fashionable piano accompaniment. The Allegro was filled with vigour, each performers giving a full tone because the motion progressed. The quick third motion was plangently affecting while the ultimate gigue had a perky appeal and was positively a dance.

It was Joachim’s espousal of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto that put the work on the map. Brahms, Robert and Clara Schumann all heard and appreciated Joachim’s performances of the work. The 12-year-old Joachim had first performed Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in London in 1844 with Mendelssohn conducting!

Right here, we had Beethoven’s Sonata in A serious, premiered by Beethoven and Joseph Bridgetower, devoted to Bridgetower, then rededicated to Kreuzer, who by no means performed the work and seemingly disliked it. The sonata opened with robust violin gestures and gentler piano responses, regardless of the drama and the flurries of notes, we seen Sato’s candy tone and the soft-edge bell-like timbre of the piano. For the sluggish motion, Sato’s use of portamento and articulation to color and form the music was notable, and he had a finely sleek manner with these flurries of notes. The ultimate motion was rhythmically tight and crisp, with robust accents; general, class was to the fore slightly than fireplace.

This was fairly a considerable occasion. Wolfgang Sandberger’s spoken contribution was vital and there have been moments when the night hovered uncertainly between lecture and recital, however maybe my restricted German performed a job this. What was not doubtful was the way in which all involved had been eager to evoke for the viewers, that fascinating assembly of musical minds in Göttingen in 1853.

The viewers was most responsive, so Sato and Chai gave us a considerable encore, the sluggish motion of an additional Mozart violin sonata.