SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Mozart: Violin Sonata in G Major, K.301 (1778)
Prokofiev: Violin Sonata No.1 in F Minor, Op.80 (1938-1946)
Kernis: Air (1995)
Ravel: Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Major (1927)


The opening concert of the Toronto Summer Music Festival took place at the historic venue of The Carlu. Situated in the heart of Downtown Toronto it is on the 7^th Floor of the former Eaton Building and has been a favourite venue for many artists, including Canadians Ernest MacMillan, Glenn Gould, and Ben Heppner. On this occasion, Canadian violinist James Ehnes and pianist Jon Kimura Parker joined this rich tradition with their début public performance of chamber music by Mozart, Prokofiev, Kernis and Ravel.

Mozart’s Violin Sonata in G (No.18, K.301) saw the musicians off to a lively beginning. Ehnes’ approach to the Sonata was both thoughtful and introspective but, when necessary, he delivered the playful and lightly weighted interpretation the score demands. The Allegro first movement demonstrated his imagination and spontaneity and, faithful to the score, Ehnes convinced with a bowing technique that delivered a singing tone as beautiful as the strokes of a masterly painter. When the mood shifted with the tempo changes between the Andante and Rondo movements, the music unfolded with no sense of strain. Ehnes and Parker have a long term friendship as well as being musical partners and this lends strength to their interpretation. Focused and communicative, Parker’s playing was all that could be asked for by any violinist.

Prokofiev’s Sonata in F Minor (No.1, Op.80) is completely different to the Mozart Sonata. Written more than a century and a half later, this was a work Prokofiev dedicated to the legendary David Oistrakh, who premièred it with pianist Lev Oborin. A work which is highly-charged and musically developed (the second movement clearly influenced by Schöenberg’s twelve tone technique), the F Minor Sonata is often thought to represent the dark and sunken mood of Soviet Russia during the period of the Second World War. Its opening movements have a sense of relentless bombardment, represented by tonal dissonance and wide dynamic swifts articulated by the violinist. But equally challenging are those pianissimo legato moments in the latter part of the first movement, Andante, that Ehnes delivers like a voice gliding along the surface of his partner’s melodic line. At the same time, the piano score offers an almost eerie sounding support and, appropriately, Parker only enriches the musical texture around his partner, while never dominating. Both Ehnes and Parker are so emotionally engaged in delivering this narrative that by the end of this 30 minute reading the Steinway required immediate re-tuning, while Ehnes’ violin bow had many of its horse-hairs scattered on the ground.

The work finished with a nostalgic fade that seems mystical, bringing us back to the place where the piece began.

The performance was so emotionally draining that the intermission felt necessary to allow the performers and the audience alike to recover.

American composer Aaron Jay Kernis’s one movement piece Air, written for the American violinist Joshua Bell (who gave a spell-binding orchestral performance of this work with David Zinman and the Minnesota Orchestra) opened the second half. This version, re-arranged for violin and piano, was equally enjoyable with Ehnes projecting the melodies with his signature tone which is so full of beauty and serenity. Filling the open space of the concert room in an almost organic way, Ehnes’ formidable technique transformed the notes into the embodiment of birds, seeing the earth from high above.

Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Piano in G (No.2) closed the recital programme. Here one saw not only Ehnes but Parker shining vividly in their respective parts. The smooth blending of complex jazz-idioms in the ‘Blues’ second movement was a highlight, and the remarkable synthesis in their music-making makes it hard to believe that these two Canadian musicians were only making their first public appearance together tonight.

Two encores followed which raised even higher the spirits of the full-house audience: Paul Schoenfield’s ‘Square Dance’ from Four Souvenirs and Ravel’s Berceuse, in memory of Gabriel Fauré.

Jon Kimura Parker, Pianist (Photo by: Jon Kimura Parker)

If there were any issues that might have puzzled the audience, one might have been why both musicians relied on having their scores in front of them throughout the concert. Surely, the firm musical understanding established between Ehnes and Parker suggests that scores would be redundant rather than a necessity for the two.

More critically, the two high-beam spotlights on the ceiling of The Carlu concert stage were a constant irritation to many in the audience throughout the concert. Ironically, these visual distractions may have allowed certain audiences, those who prefer listening with eyes closed rather than suffering the disruptions of vision, to enjoy the experience more fully!

One tiny suggestion on the improvement of the concert programme may be in the clarity and consistency of the programme notes (for instance, Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Piano (1927) is in fact not the composer’s only Sonata for the two instruments, but is the second of two, written in the key of G Major).

However, regardless of these minor quibbles, this opening concert augurs well for a successful 4 weeks at the Toronto Summer Music Festival.

Patrick P.L. Lam