Miki Nagahara ’13 on the violin, Paul Noh ’12 on the piano and Sasha Scolnik-Brower ’13 on the cello performed a repertoire characterized by powerful chords, scales and vivacious tones at the Student Recital past Friday.
The concert began with the trio’s performance of Beethoven’s “Trio in C minor, Op. 1, No. 3,” which includes four movements: “Allegro con brio,” “Andante cantabile con variazioni,” “Minuetto. Quasi Allegro” and “Finale. Prestissimo.”
“Allegro con brio” was the climax of the entire piece, as its quick tempo and dramatic dynamics built up tension to create a jubilant mood. “Andante cantabile con variazioni” had a slower, softer and calmer mood. The movement ended with a series of vibrant chromatic scales.
The performance of the piece “Trio Elegiac No. 1 in G minor” by Sergei Rachmaninoff marked the highlight of the concert. The music spotlighted each part and allowed each of the three instruments to be heard individually as the tremolos and the repetition of the main melody bounced back and forth between the violin, cello and piano.
“I really liked ‘Trio Elegiac’ because it showcased the great skills of all three players and their different talents and their ability to work together to create beautiful music,” said Harry Wright ’14.
Following a short intermission, the trio began its final piece, Schubert’s “Piano Trio No. 1 in B flat Major, D. 898.” The longest piece of the concert, “Piano Trio” also included four movements: “Allegro moderato,” “Andante un poco mosso,” “Scherzo. Allegro” and “Rondo. Allegro vivace.”
“Allegro moderato,” the first movement of the piece, flowed smoothly but rapidly. Noh on the piano provided a background melody as Scolnik-Brower and Nagahara worked co-operatively to achieve a very wide range of notes.
The final movement of Schubert’s piece, “Rondo. Allegro vivace” marked the end to the concert with appropriately lighthearted but strong melodies in which the three instruments echoed one another. The movement’s powerful chords and slowly increasing speed built up to the final strong note that echoed throughout the entire hall.
After a short moment of awe, all members of the audience enthusiastically applauded the musicians.
“I think they [the musicians] are extremely talented, and it sounded really great,” said Stacy Ramos ’14. “They worked really well together. I liked the different rhythms and harmonies of the pieces.”
Of the specific pieces performed in the recital, Nagahara said, “At the beginning of the year, we got together as a trio to play. Schubert is actually a piece that I played with Sasha a long time ago and read with his aunt, and it’s kind of funny that we played it again. The Rachmaninoff was something that Paul was interested in and really wanted to play.”
Hours of tireless practices preceded the trio’s successful recital, and the musicians were very happy with their own performance.
“We met every week for about an hour or two and then for this past week we met almost every day and practiced a lot,” said Nagahara.
“We didn’t expect it [the concert] to require so much energy. There were things that didn’t go quite right, but overall I think we are happy with how it went,” Nagahara continued.
