Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Nov 15 2025

Barbara, Dale, Jere and I heard the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center on Nov 15, 2025. It was a program with a focus on the viola, probably my favorite of the string instruments. The players were Stella Chen and Alexander Sitkoventsy on violin, Matthew Lipman and Paul Neubauer on viola, and Jonathan Swensen on cello. Four of the five pieces on the program were for all five players, an ensemble called a "viola quintet," aka a string quartet plus an extra viola. It's a rich, tasty sound.

Ralph Vaughan Williams, *Phantasy Quintet* (1912)

This piece appropriately opened with a viola solo. Vaughan Williams structured the opening in an interesting way - - he had just four of the five players playing at a time, it was probably two or three minutes into the piece before we heard all five playing together. The first movement ended with another viola solo. The second movement was more animated. I felt like the cello was a little blurry, something I noticed a few times over the course of the concert (I didn't hear that from the other players).

The third movement was for the four upper strings, the cello took a break. The sound was warm velvet, tender and meaningful. The final movement was full of snap and strut. There was an abrupt change in tempo and mood at one point, what I call a "Say You, Say Me" Moment, like you've turned the dial on the radio and are hearing another piece. They worked themselves into quite a froth and I was sure that it was ramping up for the big finish but no - - there was a quirky solo line that went from the top voice down to the cello and back again, ending with the first violin holding a quiet high note and the other four players playing sweet, angelic chords.

Ludwig van Beethoven, *Fugue in D major* (1817)

This piece was only two minutes long. It sounded nothing like Beethoven to me, it was over before it began. I said to Jere and Barbara at the intermission, "Was it even a fugue?" They confirmed it was a classic fugue, with the fugue subject making its way methodically through the five instruments. I guess I was so startled and fumbling for my program to make sure I was hearing the piece I was expecting... Weird.

York Bowen, *Two Duos in G major for Two Violas* (1920)

I'd never heard of this guy, I need to check him out. The piece was a lot of fun, not so much a duo as a DUEL! It was written for the two violists to show off and one-up each other, full of wit and whimsy and diva posturing. The audience actually laughed. Clearly the players had a fun time with it, always a joy for the audience to see.

Brett Dean, *Epitaphs* (2010)

I know Dean from his amazing opera of *Hamlet* that the Met did in 2022. He's a master of writing for strings, he seemed to pack so much of their capabilities into this one piece. The first movement started with spooky harmonics, the ethereal, high sound you get when you touch the string but don't press down on it. The first violin and cello had a unision solo line, many octaves apart, with the other three instruments wheezing around them. Fascinating. This was one of those pieces that seems to teach you how to listen to it as it goes along. I got a strong Olivier Messaien vibe, and since he's one of my favorite composers, I was riveted.

The second movement started with disembodied whistling from the cello. This led to more straightforward music with all five players digging in and playing out. Not as interesting to me. The third movement had a gorgeous cello solo with more flashes of Messaienic chaos. Thrilling.

The fourth movement was playful, with a Latin rhythm, unexpected and a nice contrast. It had a sort of question mark for an ending. The final movement sounded like a misty grey landscape, very English. It sounded like Benjamin Britten with a hangover. The piece ended with a frenzied section that calmed down for moments of nauseous clarity. This piece highlighted the cohesion of the quintet - - they were totally unified in their phrasing and their intention. Barbara noticed their bowing was even in synch.

This recording has Brett Dean himself playing the extra viola part with the Orion Quartet:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, *Quintet in C major* (1787)

Not a fan. I felt like the Mozart was on the second half as a reward for the more conservative members of the audience for enduring the first half. To me it felt warmed over, like something that had been played 500,000 times, totally unlike everything on the first half, which had a sense of freshness and purpose. The quintet played it beautifully, it's the music itself that left me cold. Also unlike the other quintets on the program it didnt feel tied to those five instruments - - it felt like music that could just as easily be played by a full orchestra or a violin and piano.

Jere was struck by all of the deceptive cadences in the first movement. This is Mozart building up your expectation that he's going to go somewhere, maybe even finish the movement, and then, at the last second, "Psych!" This is a fun trick, it can be amusing. The third movement was was my favorite, it really took fire. It featured dueling solos (similar to the Bowen piece) with the first violin and first viola feeding off each other. That was delightful. But on the whole, please skip the Mozart.