Shao and co. deliver dynamic concert

From the somber opening tones of the cello singing out a C minor arpeggio, it was clear that a spectacular concert was in store. Sophie Shao, making a return appearance in the Kevin P. Mahaney ’84 Center for the Arts Concert Hall, flawlessly sustained her reputation as a master cellist.

Bringing with her Carmoit Zori on violin, Eric Nowlin on viola and Pei-Yao Wang on piano, the quartet performed three timeless selections from the Romantic era.

The show opened with Mendelssohn’s first piano quartet, in C minor. Mendelssohn, a German composer, was heavily influenced by the Bach tradition, as much of his complex counterpoint reveals. He was an extremely talented child, making his first concert appearances at age nine, despite starting lessons only three years earlier.

He was also a prolific composer from a very young age, writing a significant number of magnificent pieces through his teenage years.

This quartet, written when he was only 13 years old, was his first published piece. Considering his inexperience, the quartet is extraordinarily mature, and like most Mendelssohn, difficult. However, Shao and friends mastered the subtle arpeggiation of the first movement, the windy scales of the scherzo and the grave counterpoint of the final movement.

Following was Fauré’s second piano quartet in G minor. Fauré’s French identity was unmistakable through the music, manifesting a romance in each chord change, in each melodic idea. The tumultuous rumbling that opened the piece quickly gave way to an exquisite duet, sung between the violin and viola.

This dialogue continued throughout most of the movement, occasionally allowing the piano and cello to command the attention. In the second movement, the piano took full control, leaving the strings quietly plucking while it ran away with the rhythmic interest. The delicate third movement gave the viola some well-deserved time to shine, as Fauré continued to pour his entire compositional prowess into the beauty of a simple melody.

The final movement opened to a similar turbulent G minor rhythm as the first — but this dissolved as the movement progressed, as Fauré gradually shifted into the parallel major, ending on a virtuous G major chord.

The show closed with Schumann’s beloved quartet in E-flat major. Schumann, another German composer, was a renowned and respected composer and critic. After a shattered dream as a concert pianist (due to an irreversible hand injury), Schumann dedicated his life to composition.

This dedication, along with his love for literature, revolutionized the quality of informed musical criticism and composition, and allowed him to support a great number of upcoming pianists, such as Brahms.

Shao and friends captured the essence of this quartet, through the chromatic descents of the first movement through the haunting staccato unison of the scherzo. However, it was in the finale where the true beauty of Schumann came through.

The main theme — a grand, victorious melody shared between the instruments — gradually gave way to first-rate counterpoint, which continued through most of the movement. Following a dramatic pause near the end (just long enough for violinist Carmoit Zori to pluck a broken hair from her bow), a wash of polyphony rushed over the audience for the next minute, interweaving and growing until a final, majestic statement of the theme one last time, which brought the night to a close.

Overall, the performance was first rate. The group had a great deal of synergy running between them, which made the concert exciting for both the eyes and the ears. Their breathing was their conductor — their entrances and cadences were, for the most part, spot on. Also, as a group, their dynamic control was outstanding; the music seemed shaped just as the composer intended, as the swells and drones seemed to be coming right from Schumann’s hand. The audience, unabashedly showing their satisfaction at the close of each piece, was excellent, and the agreeable talk that follwed them out the door would have doubtless warmed the heart of the performers.

The Performing Arts Series consistently organizes high-quality, enjoyable programs, so stay tuned for two more sure-to-please events coming up, as Philip Hamilton ’82 brings an original a cappella performance to campus on Saturday, Feb. 27, and Jean-Guihen Queyras and Alexandre Tharaud perform some piano/cello works on March 5.