BY JO ST LEON
Virtuosi Tasmania
Grace Thorpe (violin), Jennifer Marten-Smith (piano)
Szymanowski, Bach, Kreisler
Home Hill Winery, Ranelagh, 28 January
The opportunity to review this concert brought me enormous pleasure and some anxiety.
Pleasure, because I used to teach Grace Thorpe and was happily intrigued to see how she had developed. Anxiety, because I had absolutely no idea whether that development had lived up to her early promise.
I needn’t have worried. Now entering her final year at the Sydney Conservatorium, Grace (pictured below) has become a polished, responsive, and mature young musician. Together, Grace and Jen presented a program that touched my heart and captured my imagination.
Szymanowski’s Violin and Piano Sonata in D minor is a comparatively little-known work that, even on a first hearing, has much to offer — lyricism, passion, humour, and energy combine to create a work that is profound, emotional, and exciting. The morning’s performance was notable for a beautiful array of tonal colours, some breathtaking moments of quiet beauty, and a great depth of understanding from both musicians.
Bach’s unaccompanied sonatas and partitas are notoriously difficult. Their polyphonic nature is a challenge to even the best of bow techniques, and a dearth of dynamic suggestions from the composer leads to a huge variety of interpretations. Grace’s performance was poised, with clarity of voicing and elegant phrasing. She created a beautiful sense of tranquility in the Andante of Sonata in A minor, and the Allegro featured a lovely lively energy and a clear sense of the two voices.
Kreisler’s Caprice Viennois is a gem of a little piece that is playful, romantic, and virtuosic in quick succession. Grace’s rendition had enormous charm and a gorgeous feeling of pre-war Vienna. Her love of the music was apparent, and she brought to it an irresistible lightheartedness and warmth of tone.
Overall, this was a thoroughly enjoyable morning of music. Grace and Jen (pictured below) have an understated rapport that gives the music every opportunity to shine. I hope to hear more from them.
Images supplied.
