Concert Review—

Works For Small Ensemble Resonate

Brilliantly At Edmond Town Hall

By June April

The seed for the relationship between the members of Jacques Thibaud Trio took root in college, at Berlin School of Art, seven years ago.  Their union came from frustration, for none of the other musical groups either of the members had worked with up to that point had given them what they really wanted. The Jacques Thibaud Trio is just what it proports to be: a group of three musicians who pays homage with its name to the great French violinist Jacques Thibaud, who devoted himself to chamber music in addition to his activities as a soloist.

Violinist Burkhard Maiss, violist Philip Douvier and cellist Uwe Hirth-Schmidt are full-time musicians, playing concerts in Europe, Asia, Canada and the United States. This past Sunday they completed a four-month tour of this country, giving their final concert at Edmond Town Hall in Newtown.  They teach master classes when they are not concertizing or practicing.  Practice is variable, but it averages for several hours at least on a daily basis, save one day for family time. 

The trio’s members have chosen to promote and share with audiences works by composers that were written expressly for this smaller ensemble. All being well, there will be a series of compact discs forthcoming that feature little-known treasures by such renown composers such as Sibelius and a variety of Russian musical geniuses (among others) that written solely for string trios.

Three compact discs already exist, the most recent one, made two months ago, is entitled Live at Lincoln Center.  On it are two of the beautiful works played at the February 24 concert, the Beethoven and Döhnány.

 In spite of the challenging weather conditions (bitter cold and a steady rain that was at times a strong downpour), there was a fairly good-sized audience Sunday afternoon, which included about a dozen young people. The performance was worth both time and braving the elements, for this was a concert that stood out for the quality of musicianship and an excellence of performance.

 The Thibaud Trio presents a special image. Their posture is classic, with no excessive movement or theatrics in members’ playing styles. They have elected to perform sans music, while wearing the formal tuxedo with tails and cummerbund. It is almost like turning back the clock to watch them.

 It is actually an amusing story why these talented young musicians have chosen to perform “unemcumbered.”  According to Mr Hirth-Schmidt, there had been a number of occasions over the first year where one musician or another had forgotten some of the music they were to perform. It made no difference since they were well-rehearsed and really did have their parts committed to memory.

“So we made a decision in 1995,” Mr Hirth-Schmidt laughed, “to present ourselves in a more unique manner, performers without stands and music.”

 Publicity heralds this aspect of the trio and with the a host of awards at various competitions around the world, their almost perfect memories offer a slightly different focus for those in the audience and a performance that is of a much higher standard of excellence.

 Sunday’s program opened with one of Ludwig van Beethoven’s string trios, G Major, Opus 9 number 1, one of three composed by Beethoven at the end of the 18th Century.  The four movements were a delight of balance of dynamics and nuances.  Each instrument has the dominant focus at various points in this work, rather than the former style of the violin being the instrument that carried the melody.

The second presentation was the beautiful Serenade in C Major, Opus 10 by the Hugarian composer Erno Döhnány.  Composed in 1902, four years after Beethoven’s string trios, the work is lyrical, playful, wistful and riddled with deliciously rich harmonies.  It begs to be listened to again and again.

 After the intermission  Mozart’s inspiring Divertimento in E-flat, K. 563 was played. This work marked a newer depth, a fullness to that form of music. Written in 1778, the year his beloved mother died, this work is suffused with emotion and it is clear that Mozart is bringing to his composing a new maturity. As was pointed out in the program notes, Mozart focused on each instrument as “first among equals,” much as had Beethoven in the concert’s opening work.

Mr Hirth-Schmidt admitted during a post-concert reception that it is part of the trio’s mission to keep European traditions alive. It was surprising to hear, also from the same source, that he feels there has been a decline in the support of the arts in Europe and that there is more, and a greater variety of, financial sources of support for cultural events in the United States.

Once again, it should be emphasized how fortunate the area is to have such an outstanding opportunity provided by Newtown Friends of Music. This organization brings into Newtown the very finest of musicians at the most reasonable of admissions, with children being admitted at no cost.

NFoM has a web site with background and concert information available at friendsofmusic@snet.net; email can be sent to friendsofmusic@snet.