Nokuthula Ngwenyama
June 10, 2018
by Kevin T. McEneaney
The Hudson Valley Chamber Music Circle at Bard College’s Olin Hall
offered the program “The Two Glorious Brahms Sextets” which featured
Jamie Laredo and Pamela Frank on violins, Nokuthula Ngwenyama and Milena
Pajaro-van de Stadt on violas, with Keith Robinson and Sharon Robinson
on cellos. Sharon is one of my favorite cello players and it was a treat
to hear her play with her very accomplished brother.
Both Brahms string sextets are fairly long and not played that often.
I was particularly keen on hearing both at one go, since I have a 1992
EMI cd that appeared to advertise both sextets, but in fact only
provided the Scherzo for No. 2 in G major, Op. 36. That was a
frustrating annoyance and what better way to solve it than to hear a
live performance by truly accomplished players?
Sextet No. 1 in B major, Op. 18, offers a lively tribute to Baroque
dance music, with jaunty nods to Bach, Mozart, and Haydn. Layered with
variations on infectious dance tunes, it displays varied dynamics in
rhythm and volume. The tunes remain memorable and provide great fun for
the musicians who exuded that contagious fun as they were playing—the
mark of an excellent concert experience for all. Laredo nuanced Telemann
and Frank intoned more Mozart, while Stadt shone on first viola. The
interplay of sibling cellos delivered an intimate, humorous underpinning
of the more cerebral flights of the violins. While I don’t understand
how anyone could not like this lively sextet, one might opine that it
was slightly simple, except for the concluding Rondo which brought
everyone to their feet with vibrant applause and pleasure stamped on
their visage.
Op. 36 was a more interesting intellectual endeavor with layered
complexity in the adroit interaction of the six instruments that
produced unusual combinations of sounds and a textured interplay among
instrument that was astonishing. Here Jamie Laredo excelled with lyric
intensity as he articulated a voice distinct from the “crowd” that
followed and supported him. Not least in that endeavor was Ngwenyama on
first viola who offered a complimentary and sometimes challenging sound.
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