Lidia Lamonaca

THE STREETON TRIO : DVORAK, SUK AND SMETANA @ THE INDEPENDENT THEATRE

Czech Masterpieces presented with warmth and eloquence by the masterly Streeton Trio

A most enjoyable Sunday afternoon’s ‘A Prelude in Tea’ concert was performed by the Streeton Trio. They delighted Sydney audiences with a program of Dvorak, Suk and Smetana. This concert was part of the Independent theatre’s ‘A Prelude in Tea’ chamber series which offers a delicious afternoon tea at 2.30pm followed by the concert one hour later.

The youthful and internationally acclaimed Streeton Trio consisting of Emma Jardine (violin), Meta Weiss (cello) and Benjamin Kopp (piano) delighted the audience with their rendition of Czech Masterpieces.

Celebrating the release of the Streeton Trio’s new CD, this program explored masterworks by some of the most beloved Czech composers.

The program consisted of the following:

Dvořák: Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor Op.90 “Dumky”

Smetana: Piano Trio in G minor Op. 15

Suk: Elegy for Piano Trio Op.23

Violinist Emma Jardine opened the program with an introduction to Dvořák’s “Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor, Op 90 ‘Dumky’ “as there were no printed program notes. Emma explained that Dvořák was well established during the time this piece was written. The work was first performed in 1891 and is amongst Dvorak’s most popular compositions. It was so well received that Dvořák performed it on his forty-concert farewell tour throughout Moravia and Bohemia before he left for the US to start a music school in NYC.  

This Piano trio is in fact a series of 6 small movements or “Dumka” pieces, a Ukrainian folk reflective song type consisting of:

 

  • Lento Maestoso  2. Poco Adagio 3. Andante 4. Andante Moderato 5. Allegro 6. Lento maestoso.

 

Dvořák referred to these pieces as “both happy and sad”. In all movements, the tempo alternates between slow and fast, the mood between sad / longing / sorrowful and happy / joyful. All in “distinctly Czech” tone and harmony. Each dumka is in a different key (making the ‘E minor’ portion of the title quite irrelevant) since only the first dumka is in this key. Though their forms are rather simple they are emotionally complicated, starting off slowly followed by the Slavonic dance.  

 

The slow sad opening movement ‘Lento Maestoso’ opened with a confident introduction by Meta Weiss(cello) accompanied superbly by Benjamin Kopp on piano. The wonderful melody was then handed in conversation to the violin followed by a gypsy style rondo. There was a marvelous interplay in the ‘Allegro’ with the piece coming to an energetic conclusion in the ‘Lento Maestoso’.

Throughout the work the performers were sensitive to the interplay of sadness and laughter in the music whilst adhering to the abundant detail of the dynamics in the score. The accommodating pianism by Benjamin Kopp (piano) which was dramatic at times, frolicsome and sad at others blended well with the string sound which was balanced and beautifully articulated by the strings.

The rhapsodic nature of the work with its constant wild changes in character described by many as “truly Bohemian’ resulted in all players being fully engaged and enjoying themselves along with the audience.

The program continued with another Czech composer and violinist Josef Suk and his ‘Elegy for Piano Trio Op.23’. Suk studied under Dvořák whose daughter he married. It’s fair to say that his musical style started off with a heavy influence from his mentor Dvořák which occupied the same central European romantic soundscape. 

Suk’s ‘Elegy for Piano Trio Op.23’ was originally scored for solo violin, solo cello, string quartet, harmonium and harp until Suk’s friends convinced him to follow a more traditional piano trio format. The version for piano trio is shorter than the original, which was written for a commemorative event in 1902 marking the anniversary of the death of writer Julius Zeyer and his epic poem based on elements of Czech mythology.

The piece opens with an achingly beautiful melody played by Emma Jardine (violin) who is at the fore in this piece. The yearning phrase is repeated and developed by violin and cello with sensitive accompaniment by piano. The players produce such beautiful dialogues of gentle bittersweet delight with enough warm and the balance is immaculate.

The second half followed a 20 minute interval with a brief introduction by the youthful US born Meta Weiss (cello) to Smetana’s “Piano Trio in G min Op 15”. Meta explained that this was written during a particularly difficult time by Smetana following the death of his 3 daughters in their infancy. The death of his oldest daughter Bedřiška who as a young girl showed great musical abilities and Smetana had an especially close relationship, particularly hit him the hardest. He was devastated. The grief-stricken and elegiac character in this music is unmistakable.  

This piece consisted of the following movements, all in G minor.

 

  • Moderato Assai
  • Allegro, ma non agitato- Alternativo 1. Andante- Alternativo 2: Maestoso
  • Finale, Presto

 

The first movement ‘Moderato Assai’ is intense and lyrical and begins with the violin alone playing a theme on the dark G string. It’s is a towering force of anguish and despair beginning with broad, devastating gestures that continue to tighten and accelerate until the final bars of near mania with sufficient force by strings and piano.

The second movement is brighter in character than the first though this section offers two alternative expressions ‘Alternativo 1 and Alternativo 2 which is more mournful and includes march-like rhythms.

The final movement ‘Presto’ starts with much more energy and uses themes from Smetana’s piano sonata. There is a big opening by the strings with a swift dashing rondo though any positive feelings diminish with funereal tones towards the end. It’s played with feeling and balance, the piece comes to a highly charged conclusion.

The Streeton Trio handled well the tempo of this demanding dark work. They painted an assuredly vivid musical picture of the anger and confusion as well as the heartbreaking tenderness of a father’s grief expressed through his music.

The Streeton Trio named after Australian painter Sir Arthur Streeton has been described by Musica Viva as “Australia’s most internationally successful piano trio,” Winner of the 2011 Music Viva Chamber Music Competition; the Streeton Trio has been laureate of several prestigious international competitions and have won several local scholarships from various Australian Arts Councils.

This was a delightful concert performed beautifully by these talented musicians.

The performance took place on the 27th August at the Independent Theatre

Highly recommended. Be sure to catch the Streeton Trio’s future performances.  

 

Published by Lidia Lamonaca

Lidia has had a lifelong passion for the arts and in particular music. She trained in classical piano and at times has taught it for personal enjoyment. Though she has pursued a corporate career (has a Bachelor of Commerce Degree, MBA and CPA) and has held numerous senior finance positions spanning over 2 decades , her passion is music, in particular classical music and live music. She is an avid supporter of live music and artists playing in Sydney across many different genres and regularly attends 2-3 music/arts events per week. She is presently the Organiser of a couple of social live music meetup groups which facilitate music lovers in attending recitals and other music gigs with a social group. She currently works as a business consultant, enjoys playing the piano, reading, dancing, theatre especially musical theatre and is an avid movie buff. In her earlier positions working in the Pay Television industry Lidia assisted with the financing and production of various Australian movies. She has received credits for the production and making of 3 Australian feature films ‘Takeway’, ‘Bad Eggs’ and ‘A Man’s Gotta Do’. A true believer of the famous words by Shakespeare ‘If music be the food of love, play on’.