A Chicago audience got its first taste of a new musical organization at the PianoForte Studios on Saturday evening. The American Chamber Music Society introduced itself in a dramatic fashion with a program entitled The Great Pianos Trios that comprised works that aptly fit that description.
Violinist and AMCS Director Eric Gratz was joined by pianist Marika Bournaki and her husband, cellist Julian Schwarz, to perform works by two celebrated Romantic composers, Johannes Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 1 in B-major and Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 2 in d-minor. Sandwiched in between was a contemporary work by Reena Esmail, Saans (Breath).
Gratz is the chief inspiration of the American Chamber Music Society. For the inaugural season in 2024-25, five additional concerts are planned in the intimate setting at PianoForte Studios in the south Loop. Gratz commented from the stage how he wanted to restore chamber music to its roots of friends making music in a parlor after dinner. While not completely full, the audience was a nice size. Gratz commented on how friendly the atmosphere was, with attendees in conversations during intermission.
Brahms was up first. As Op. 8, this piano trio is his earliest fully published piece of chamber music, and it shows an amazing young talent. Using the very unusual key of B-major, the trio starts with a stunningly beautiful melody on the piano and cello that goes in many unusual directions. From the beginning, Gratz, Bournaki, and Schwarz clicked. Their blend and intonation was perfect. They showed off great dynamic shifts in many places.
Being by Brahms, this trio has an extraordinarily difficult piano part, which Bournaki played with feisty aplomb. There were a few minor issues, a couple of uneven runs, but nothing that detracted from the performance as a whole. She was a great counterpoint to Gratz and Schwarz on violin and cello, who displayed great tone when playing together.
The Scherzo second movement featured a delicate but charged interplay between the players. Excellent technique came through in the start of the finale, when Bournaki played ripples on the keyboard while Schwarz and Graz traded the pensive melody.
Following intermission, Gratz, Bournaki, and Schwarz gave lovely performance of Saans (Breath) by Indian-American composer, Reena Esmail. It’s an interesting juxtaposition of dreamy flourishes on the piano, while the cello links them all with an oblique melody, soon joined by the violin. Eventually the roles reverse, and everything builds to feelings of grandeur. The players offered a rich sound and a bright horizon.
After the applause, the players stayed onstage for Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio no. 2 in d-minor, a piece that screams Mendelssohn. His romantic style mixes tension with charming melody, as most composers’ music from that era does. What’s unique about him is his fun, rapid Scherzos that border on zany. Nobody wrote them like he did, and this work is right up there with his best.
Saturday’s excellent performance extracted all the tensions, charm, and fun that can be found. The first movement opens rather quietly, with the piano backing up Schwarz’s warm playing on the cello. There were many memorable moments in this first movement, such as the transition to the secondary theme and the start of the recap, when Gratz introduced a new theme on the violin. Bournaki’s clear and even notes in the runs at the end of the movement were electric. She then opened the slower second movement with the tranquility Mendelssohn requested in the tempo marking, and the performers clearly had a great time playing the Scherzo.
The American Chamber Music Society continues their inaugural season at the PianoForte Studio with a program entitled Fauré’s Salon. They’ll be playing music by Franz Schubert, Claude Debussy, Alexander Scriabin, and, of course, Gabriel Fauré. If Saturday’s concert is any indication, it could be great. 1335 S. Michicgan Ave, Chicago, Saturday, October 26, 2024, 5 pm. For more information, click here.