RECENTLY, Bute Arts Society brought outstanding, internationally acclaimed musicians to the island.
On this occasion, the audience was delighted to welcome back Benjamin Baker and Daniel Lebhardt. Benjamin, a New Zealand-born violinist, has performed in solo, chamber and concerto appearances around the world. Daniel, originally from Hungary but now living in London, was returning to Bute for the seventh time. It seems that the island and the society are very popular with musicians who are only too happy to return here; this is also due to the smooth and professional manner in which the society operates and runs its events.
The evening’s program moved through the centuries and musical eras to showcase the instrument’s range and the performers’ technical abilities. Starting in the late Classical/early Romantic era with Franz Schubert (1797–1828), who was born in Vienna, played piano, violin, viola and organ, and became a pupil at the Imperial Seminary on a choir scholarship. He wrote thousands of works in his short life and Benjamin and Daniel chose the Rondo in B minor D. 895. It was composed in 1826, being dedicated to and inspired by Jan Kubelík, a violinist often referred to as the Czech Paganini, to showcase his intense virtuosity. In three sections, andante, allegro and coda, the end section denoted Più mosso, or more motion, was certainly played with gusto. The genius of Schubert’s affinity for both violin and piano is so evident in this composition; both instruments were swept along, trading flourishes and demonstrating both range and talent. Fast, swirling, dance-like motifs gave way to more dramatic and expressive sections and a beautifully synchronised gallop that burst into a driving finale. For this concert, Daniel was ably assisted by Olga Morgan as page turner.
Next we heard the first of two pieces by Grażyna Bacewicz (1909–1969), a Polish composer and violinist. This was another example of the current, overdue trend of very deserving female composers being rescued from the shadows. The miniature piece entitled Witraż, translating as stained glass window, was a beautiful work with a sparse, ethereal nature and an attitude of meditative tenderness that Benjamin and Daniel performed with immense delicacy.
This brief interlude led us to the mid-Romantic period and a work by Johannes Brahms (1833–1897), who played violin and was a successful pianist as well as a composer. The Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100, was written in 1886. Brahms entitled it Sonata for piano and violin; it is considered the most lyrical of his three violin sonatas and the most difficult to perform, but our intrepid performers were undaunted. The three movements, Allegro amabile (A major), Andante tranquillo (F major) and Allegretto grazioso (A major), formed an elegant and soulful composition.
The gentle themes echoing between the piano and violin made the performance appear effortless as the piece transitioned through changing moods, the violin moving from sweetly singing to a dancing pizzicato. The fabulously flowing piano demonstrated Daniel’s feather-like touch in a performance of the full expressive range of the piano.
After the interval we returned to Grażyna Bacewicz for Kołysanka, a cradle song. Again, Bacewicz gave us graceful serenity, the flowing rhythm of a sweet lullaby with notes floating to a dream-like state before the piece faded to a gentle rocking repetition. The final piece of the program was by Ottorino Respighi (1879–1936), an Italian composer, violinist and teacher who wrote many types of composition but who is most famous for his tone poems. The Violin Sonata in B minor was composed in 1917 and is one of his major large-scale chamber works. This sonata is renowned for its demanding violin and piano parts, with the unusual feature of time signatures for the two instruments being unmatched in parts, adding to the complexity of the work. The first of the three movements, designated Moderato, was performed with passion and unrestrained emotion. The piano part flowed like a waterfall with the violin soaring above. Blurred hands almost overwhelmed the keyboard, the instrumental synergy leaving the audience spellbound. The second movement, Andante espressivo, took the form of a companionable conversation between the two instruments, each giving space for the other and revealing the intense bond between the musicians, each delighting in the other’s contribution. The composition created a powerful depth of feeling that relinquished to a delicate ending like a cinematic fade-out. The final section, Passacaglia, a street song, was such an energetic piece, played with lively, powerful abandon, calming to an almost broody section before returning to a vibrant, fast and fabulous finale.
The joyful audience were treated to a longed-for encore with Deep River by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, written in 1904 as part of his 24 Negro Spirituals. As you would expect from the title, this is a very flowing work, initially evocative of a calm expanse of water, suddenly eddying, perhaps on some rocks, before calming again to regain its peaceful passage.
Benjamin and Daniel are first-rate performers who are unquestionably masters of their instruments. They presented an adventurous, uplifting program in a concert that will be fondly remembered by their lucky audience.
