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Ambrosia Plays Again In a life of more than a decade the Ambrosia String Players have performed as both a trio and quartet, offering the community music that ranges from Haydn to Hailstork and Tchaikovsky to Glazunov, Shastokovich and Borodin. In this concert they featured local composer John Dixon along with Beethoven and Brahms. The color photography of the players on the cover of the program show, in left to right order: Rebecca Gilmore (cello), Mayu Cipriano (second violin), Simon Lapointe (first violin) and Beverly Kane Baker (viola). Ms. Baker grew-up in Hampton, Ms. Gilmore in Charlotte, North Carolina, Ms. Cipriano in Tokyo and Mr. Lapointe in Quebec, Canada. All are current members of the Virginia Symphony. After a brief introduction of the evening’s program by Dr. Martin Sunderland, Director of Parish Music at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, the composer of the first two short pieces, John Dixon, spoke. He pointed out that “his advantage over Beethoven and Brahms” is that he gets to be here to talk about his pieces. High Five, so called because it is in 5/4 time, was written for his children who used to spin around on the piano stool when he played it and called it “the dizzy song.” The sprightly piece was delightful and gave us our first experience of the warm, lively acoustics of the sanctuary. Canzona (2004), originally written for organ and more recently arranged for string quartet, was a somber, Bach-like tune with some modern accidentals. The quartet played with a polished cohesion. Throughout the program it was clear that this was a well-rehearsed, totally committed group of musicians who enjoyed what they were playing and invited us to share their joy. Trio Serenade in D Major, Op. 8 (1795-1797) by Ludwig von Beethoven followed. The five movements begin and end with a march as we were told by Ms. Gilmore who pointed out that all three instruments are featured as the piece unfolds. The Menuetto movement (II) begins as a fast-paced dance with brief pauses that allow the music to breathe. It becomes increasingly more carefree through its pizzicato end. The Adagio (III) in D minor was stately and took us to a deeper emotional place, ending in a hymn-like tune. Allegretto alla polacca (IV) has a repetition of cadence on three beats to the bar in short rhythmic motifs. Often led by the cello, the perky tempo and crisp playing made one feel like dancing. V is a theme with variations. Only one is truly Beethoven’s artistry while the others are modeled on Haydn and Mozart. All are played moderately slowly with the cello often predominant. All the players faces lighted-up with a wide smile as they reached a satisfying end. At age 40 a mature Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) wrote his String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 51. The bright, lively, dramatic melody of the first movement is passed around by turn to all four players. The piece is so musically rich and intense that it makes demands on the listeners’ concentration that the earlier pieces did not. The second movement had an edge, as if the composer is struggling to find a perfect end phrase. The Quasi Menuetto, moderato movement slowly unfolded with brief, chirpy phrase punctuation. The ending was soft, even gentle. The finale’s rhythm was very fast. In his introduction violinist Lapointe had the quartet play a three-note figure that recurs, taking on a powerful grandeur before Brahms ends this brilliant piece. The encore for this most enthusiastic audience was Eleanor Rigby on this, the 50th anniversary of the Beatles appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. The work was arranged for Ambrosia by Mr. Lapointe with the viola part played by Ms. Baker, prominent. Her deeper tone added richness to a familiar tune. |