Review: Schwarz ushers in world premiere at Seattle's summer chamber-music festival

The Seattle Chamber Music Society is well-known for introducing talented young musicians to local audiences through its beloved Summer Festival. With the inception of its Commissioning Club in 2006, the SCMS has taken the logical next step of bringing new musical works to life as well.

It's an inspired move, to get your audience literally and emotionally invested in musical creation at this level. The buzz attending Monday night's world premiere was especially heartfelt, since the composer was none other than Seattle Symphony's soon-to-be-emeritus conductor Gerard Schwarz.

The challenge Schwarz took on was no small one: that of composing a horn trio, quite a tricky combination of differing sonorities. During the preceding recital, Schwarz sat onstage to introduce his Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano. With his nontechnical explanations and affable humor, Schwarz was a convincing spokesman — think William Shatner in his Priceline commercials, but less frantic. The most endearing feature of Schwarz's remarks was his obvious affection for his piece, much like that of a father for a newborn.

When Schwarz's baby debuted later that night, his recital comments proved quite helpful as signposts to understanding this new work. The opening section's "incantation," with the horn approximating a shofar, possessed an elemental simplicity whose mood brought to mind the iconic sequence of "2001: A Space Odyssey."

Pianist Adam Neiman was particularly impressive as he morphed through a thunderous cloud of Rachmaninoff-styled piano chords, a section of Kurt Weill-like moody shifts, and then a brier patch of Copelandish chord progressions. The violin, played by Stefan Jackiw, was mostly used to add lushness to the proceedings, except in the rhythmic Scherzo, where the off-kilter, gravelly textures created by the violin and piano were outlined in bright bronze by Jeffrey Fair's horn.

At intermission, the reactions were varied, but largely positive. There was gushing ("Whaddya think about that gorgeous violin- piano duet in the second section?") as well as remarks about the range of influences present in the piece ("He put everything in it but the kitchen sink!").

The excitement over the world premiere might have overshadowed the two book-ending works — Bizet's "Jeux d'enfants" for Piano and Tchaikovsky's "Souvenir de Florence" for String Sextet — but these two works held up well.

Bizet's collection of charming piano vignettes was performed with crystalline sensitivity by pianists Ran Dank (who played the treble end) and Anton Nel (who played the bass end). Each piece evoked the child's toy or game it was named for, and the most satisfying of this winsome lot was the militant toy soldier's march of "Trompette and Tambour" (just like the march in "Carmen").

Tchaikovsky's rambunctious sextet exploded with its first note, swelling with increasing gypsy fervor through each movement, with a manic Swan Lake moment thrown in for good measure during the frenzied finale. Led by violinist Ida Levin, the musicians threw themselves into this melee with abandon, ending the evening in a sweaty sprint that the audience loudly approved, as it tends to with such florid displays.

Sumi Hahn: sumi@bewodo.org

Upcoming concert highlights

Friday: The festival concludes its run at Benaroya with Dvorak's sensuous Piano Trio in F minor, with pianist Ran Dank.

Wednesday: The Summer Festival moves to The Overlake School; bring your blankets, wine and a buddy, and hear it all for free under the starry summer skies. Pack your own picnic, or order one in advance. Shostakovich's self-referential Quartet No. 8 and Beethoven's sublime "Archduke" Piano Trio in B-flat Major.