The Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Society (MVCMS) has two treats for us this summer at the Old Whaling Church.
The Verona Quartet will return to the Vineyard on July 28 at 4 pm — this time appearing with Polish guitarist Lukasz Kuropaczewski. “We are very excited to come back,” says violist Abigail Rojansky. “We feel a real affinity for the Vineyard. We are excited to bring Lukasz with us. He’s an extraordinary musician.”
The New York Times has praised the distinguished Verona Quartet as an “outstanding ensemble … cohesive yet full of temperament.” In addition to Rojansky, the quartet includes Jonathan Ong and Dorothy Ro on violin, and cellist Jonathan Dormand.
The program opens with two pieces by Antonio Vivaldi: “Concerto for Lute in D Major,” RV 93, and “Concerto for Mandolin in C Major,” RV 425. Rojansky says that for her, Vivaldi is all about pure joy: “Even when it’s in a minor key, or dark, you know that’s just the cloud over the sunshine, and that there’s sunshine behind it.”
Next, the quartet will play Giuseppe Verdi’s “String Quartet in E minor,” the only one he ever composed. Rojansky explains, “We know him from his opera repertoire, which is full of party scenes and celebrations.” But this quartet came about because Verdi was in Naples to put together a performance of “Aida” when his prima diva got sick. “They had to put everything on hold,” says Rojansky. “Sitting in his hotel room with nothing to do, he wrote a quartet purely for the joy of writing music. We end up with this kind of manic, symphonic exceptional piece, and we, as string quartet players, are so lucky and grateful; otherwise, we’d have nothing of Verdi just for us.”
The final work is Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s “Quintet for Guitar and String Quartet,” Op. 143, written for Andrés Segovia. “Tedesco was of Spanish origin, but born in Italy. This piece is imbued with so much Spanish and Italian joy,” Rojansky shares.
She continues, “The music on this program will reach your spirit easily. It’s music that finds its way into the soul naturally. But it’s always important to come to every concert with an open mind, open heart, and open ears. I hope the audience comes away with a new feeling about music they have heard before, or a new openness to accept and be excited about things they are not familiar with.”
On Sunday, August 4, at 4 pm, violinist Diana Cohen and pianist Roman Rabinovich will return with Nelson Ricardo Yovera Perez on the horn.
The program begins with Rabinovich playing three solo works by Claude Debussy, each evocative of its title. There are “Pagodes,” meaning pagodas, “Soirée dans Grenade,” translated as evening in Grenada, and “Jardins du la Pluie,” which means gardens in the rain. Cohen says, “They are coloristic and very sensual.”
Rabinovich will then play two short pieces by Sergei Rachmaninov: “Prelude,” Op. 32 No. 12, and “Moment Musicaux,” Op. 16 No. 4. Cohen says, “Both are very enthralling and virtuosic works.”
Cohen and Rabinovich will then play a work by Witold Lutoslawski, who is probably the most famous Polish composer after Chopin. Cohen says, “He wrote this quite dramatic piece for violin and piano titled ‘Partita,’ which is about 17 minutes long. It’s quite strong, fierce, and dynamic … very intense. He wrote a few of the movements in a way that makes the violin and piano not supposed to be synced up at all, so it’s like a conversation where somebody blurts something out. Then the next person responds, but not in a particular timeline.”
She continues, “It’s an incredible work, and it might be the first time that many on Martha’s Vineyard will hear this piece. It has a fierce intensity, and can be overwhelming in the best sense of the word.”
They will finish with Johannes Brahms’ “Trio in E flat major,” op. 40, for horn, violin, and piano. “It’s one of the greatest pieces ever written for this combination,” Cohen says. “Brahms wrote it after the death of his mother, so it has a very deeply personal nature. The slow movement is touching, and the last movement is thrilling. It’s one of our favorite works in the whole world to play, and is always beloved by the audience as well.”
“I think this program has quite the span and breadth of the human experience. There’s tenderness, love, fury, terror, and excitement,” Cohen relates. “We hope to put people through an experience, and through that experience their own emotions that come out so clearly through the music.” Reflecting on what non-classical listeners sometimes say to her, “Oh, classical music is so relaxing,” Cohen reflects, “It can be relaxing, but it’s so much more than that. It’s everything we experience as humans, and that’s why we love music so much.”
Cohen ends with an anecdote, “Someone said something to me about chamber music — it’s an intimate musical conversation with people you love that happens onstage with no speaking.”
The Verona Quartet will return to the Vineyard on July 28 at 4 pm, and violinist Diana Cohen and pianist Roman Rabinovich will return with Nelson Ricardo Yovera Perez on the horn on August 4 at 4 pm. Both concerns will be at the Old Whaling Church. For tickets and information, visit mvcms.org.
