The Craftsbury Chamber Players continued their 56-year tradition of fine performances of intriguing programming Thursday at the Hardwick Town House. On the menu were works by Italian composers, known and unknown, from Baroque to 20th century. The program was also performed Thursday at Burlington’s First Baptist Church.
Starting with the unknown, Giovanni Sgamabatti’s 1886 Piano Quintet No. 1 in F-minor, Op. 4, was the major work, filling the second half of the program. Although late Romantic, the work became less tethered to expectations as it went along. The opening Adagio-Allegro non troppo was typically passionate and intense, Mendelssohn with an Italian accent.
The scherzo, Vivacissimo, was spiky and exciting. An extreme contrast, the slow movement, Andante sostenuto, was lyrical, intense, introspective and deeply beautiful, perhaps the high point of Thursday’s program. But it was the finale, Allegro moderato, that was just plain nuts — beautifully so. The set of variations went just about everywhere, including a fugue, on this often delightfully unexpected journey.
That was, in part, an outcome of the excellent performers. CCP stalwart, pianist Marcantonio Barone, led the performance with a deep understanding of this music and a sure and nuanced technique that maintained the structure while delivering the excitement. Joining him were violinists Wendy Sharp and Mary Rowell, violist Marka Gustavvson and cellist Mimi Hwang, who, together and individually, matched Barone all the way.
Still, it was the 1950 String Trio, Op. 4, by the 20th-century composer Mario Castalnuevo-Tedesco that proved most intriguing, perhaps a masterpiece. Virtuosic violinist Jennifer Gersten, surefire violist Adria Benjamin and warm and expressive cellist Frances Rowell delivered this three-movement work of layers and textures with the precision and pathos that made it irresistible. The slow movement, Nenia, was particularly haunting and inviting.
Frances Rowell, the Players’ artistic director, and Barone opened the program with the Sonata No. 4 in B-flat Major, RV5, for cello and continuo by Antonio Vivaldi. (Continuo parts were merely the structure of an accompaniment for the keyboard player to improvise upon.) Interestingly this realization of the figured bass was by the 20th-century Italian composer Luigi Dallapiccola and tailored to the piano rather than the usual harpsichord. Rowell delivered a spirited performance, nuanced and expressive when appropriate, while Barone enjoyed the subtle pianistic flourishes, complementing his partner.
Craftsbury Chamber Players concerts are often full of surprises — and even when they’re not, they’re deeply satisfying.
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