The Takács Quartet’s appearance at the Cleveland Chamber Music Society saw the ensemble present three contrasting works, all of which engaged in some capacity with various folk traditions. Hugo Wolf’s appealing Italian Serenade made for a warm and gracious opening. Light, airy material was given with abandon and delicate interplay amongst the acutely-balanced quartet. Unassuming and unpretentious, its Italianate textures were of insouciant charm.
The Takács Quartet and Marc-André Hamelin © Ron Werman
For the remainder of the program, the Takács was joined by pianist Marc-André Hamelin for two weighty piano quintets. Fortunes have been kind to Hamelin admirers in Cleveland, with this performance following just a couple of months after his invigorating solo recital here which still persists strongly in memory. In one of the most remarkable of musical discoveries, a vast trove of Florence Price manuscripts was unearthed in an abandoned house in Illinois as recently as 2009. Among these priceless scores was the Piano Quintet in A minor, a major contribution to the medium.
A brooding opening, complete with thundering octaves in the piano, gave way to rich and lovely thematic material, evidencing Price’s gift as a melodist. Matters were stately and spacious with ample room to breathe, and the first movement culminated in a cascading, big-toned coda. The Andante con moto offered languid contrast, with Hamelin’s chordal passages decorated by delicate filigree. The ensemble’s limber flexibility gave the following Juba an unencumbered playfulness, and its intoxicating syncopations evidenced a common ancestor with ragtime. Unusually, the quintet ends with a Scherzo, a quantity that also took its cue from dance rhythms. A dramatic reading drew the work to a blazing finish.
Just like the Wolf Serenade, Dvořák’s Piano Quintet no. 2 in A major dates from 1887 – coincidentally, also the birth year of Price. Certainly one of the pinnacles of the piano quintet literature, it made for a rewarding close to the evening. Rocking gestures in the piano initiated a long paragraph, with a resonant cello line (András Fejér) taking shape. The ensemble did much to emphasize the grand sweep of the broad first movement. In the Dumka, an evocative theme sounded almost glasslike in the piano. Stripped to barren textures, it made for the haunting heart of the work.
A fleet Scherzo saw quick fingerwork from all, while its Trio nearly overflowed with lyricism. The rhythmic vitality of the finale did much to heighten one’s spirits on a cold January night. Takács and Hamelin are longtime chamber music partners, and their chemistry developed over the years made a strong impression. The program notes indicated plans to record the Price and Dvořák quintets, and I’m glad to know I’ll be able to listen to this collaboration again.