Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Superstars JOSHUA BELL and DANIIL TRIFONOV team up at Carnegie Hall for a terrific evening of chamber music for violin and piano

• By drediman
• May 31, 2023
• No Comments

Earlier this week, violinist Joshua Bell and pianist Daniil Trifonov teamed up at Carnegie Hall for a terrific evening of chamber music. Those of you who at all follow classical music know that these two are superstar musicians of the first order. Suffice to say, the opportunity to witness them collaborate for such an intimate program proved to be quite the treat.

The evening commenced with two contrasting sonatas — Beethoven’s vibrant Violin Sonata No. 1 and Prokofiev’s turbulent Violin Sonata No. 1. In both cases, Bell’s playing on the violin was expressive and conscientiously refined. The sound he generated was well-rounded and beautifully-phrased, if not necessarily show-stopping — which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Less conspicuous on keys, Trifinov played with his trademark deliberate delicacy, grounding Bell’s frequently showier passages. Although both works were expertly and confidently rendered, I wish they had more thoroughly and thoughtfully explored the darker, more emotionally fraught hues of the Prokofiev.

More fascinating and successful was the evening’s second half, which included Bloch’s exquisite “Nigun” (a part of me wishes the bill had included all three sections of Bloch’s Baal Shem) and Franck’s well-known Violin Sonata. Indeed, it’s as if the two soloists needed the warm-up of performing the first two pieces in order to harmonize themselves and play with true inspiration. Bell in particular showed off his prowess and capacity for poetry in “Nigun”. In the Franck, both were beautifully synchronized — fully complimenting as opposed to contrasting each other — delivering an exciting, vital account, and avoiding the kind of pro forma performance that could have well transpired.

Unsurprisingly, encores were demanded and dutifully delivered by way of Clara Schumann’s appealing Romance and Johannes Brahms’ rousing Hungarian Dance No. 1.

RECOMMENDED

JOSHUA BELL & DANIIL TRIFONOV
Classical Music
Carnegie Hall
Approximately 2 hours (with one intermission)
Closed