Masterful threesome
Garth Wilshere
Saguaro Trio, Wellington Town Hall, August 3. Reviewed by Garth Wilshere
I was impressed by pianist John Chen the time I first heard him in the Kapiti Piano Competition, ten or so years ago while he was still at school. From there he developed as a soloist and from the start he also demonstrated excellent chamber music attributes and credentials performing with fellow students in Chamber Music New Zealand School Competitions. Now he’s touring with two excellent young musical colleagues, Canadian violinist Lianne Hornzy and American cellist Peter Myers.
The three are true collaborators in chamber music style in piano trio repertoire, with Chen masterful leading from the piano and each of the others equal, wonderfully musical partners.
The elusive, delicate quality of Ravel’s style was deliciously caught by all with the ethereal wisps of sound and bigger bolder phrases in his Piano Trio scintillatingly played in a magical performance, of rare quality. Quite possibly the best performance I have ever heard live.
And capping off their fine excursion into excellence was an earlier masterwork, Schubert’s E flat Trio D 929, again exquisite playing.
The evening had started with another interesting connection, a new work by a contemporary of Chen’s in earlier competitions, violist and composer Alwyn Westbrooke. His allusive “?” or Why Gryphons Shouldn’t Dance, an intriguing title for a piece that he says takes as its starting point Latin American dance rhythms. Clever and well constructed with some manipulated piano sounds and spare instrumental writing, contrasted with a bit of battle between piano and strings, it is an uncompromising piece of writing that while good, was no match for the masterpieces of the piano trio genre which followed.
I was impressed by pianist John Chen the time I first heard him in the Kapiti Piano Competition, ten or so years ago while he was still at school. From there he developed as a soloist and from the start he also demonstrated excellent chamber music attributes and credentials performing with fellow students in Chamber Music New Zealand School Competitions. Now he’s touring with two excellent young musical colleagues, Canadian violinist Lianne Hornzy and American cellist Peter Myers.
The three are true collaborators in chamber music style in piano trio repertoire, with Chen masterful leading from the piano and each of the others equal, wonderfully musical partners.
The elusive, delicate quality of Ravel’s style was deliciously caught by all with the ethereal wisps of sound and bigger bolder phrases in his Piano Trio scintillatingly played in a magical performance, of rare quality. Quite possibly the best performance I have ever heard live.
And capping off their fine excursion into excellence was an earlier masterwork, Schubert’s E flat Trio D 929, again exquisite playing.
The evening had started with another interesting connection, a new work by a contemporary of Chen’s in earlier competitions, violist and composer Alwyn Westbrooke. His allusive “?” or Why Gryphons Shouldn’t Dance, an intriguing title for a piece that he says takes as its starting point Latin American dance rhythms. Clever and well constructed with some manipulated piano sounds and spare instrumental writing, contrasted with a bit of battle between piano and strings, it is an uncompromising piece of writing that while good, was no match for the masterpieces of the piano trio genre which followed.
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