By Eileen Wingard
LA JOLLA, California — A plaintive clarinet solo, soon echoed by the viola, began the first movement of Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki’s haunting Quartet for Clarinet and String Trio, the opening work on Summerfest’s August 20 concert at the Conrad. The highly acclaimed Polish composer wrote this four-movement piece when he was 60 years old, returning to more traditional melody and harmony from his earlier avant garde use of tone clusters and semi-tones.
The Quartet’s sparse writing speaks in a unique voice, mirroring the sadness of his earlier large works, Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima and Polish Requiem. It was performed with great sympathy and skill by clarinetist Anthony McGill, violinist Andrew Wan, violist Misha Amory and cellist Zlatomir Fung.
Anthony McGill is the principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. He performed at the inauguration of President Barack Obama. His older brother, Damarre McGill, now principal flute of the Seattle Symphony, held that post previously in the San Diego Symphony Orchestra.
Violinist Andrew Wan is the current concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony; Misha Amory, founding member of the Brentano String Quartet, teaches at both Juilliard and Curtis; and cellist Zlatomir Fung is the recent first-prize winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition.
The second selection on the program, Schubert’s String Quintet in C Major, was the last instrumental composition Schubert composed before his untimely death at age 31. Its sunny character gives little indication of the composer’s impending passing. The added cello facilitated the beautiful cello duet theme in the first movement and more harmonic depth than the usual string quartet. Only the sweet sadness of the Adagio movement’s gentle melody, sung by the inner voices, indicated some impending grief.
The buoyant scherzo movement had a surprising slower mid-section, and the final movement resembled a raucous Hungarian Dance, handled with expertise by the five able musicians.
The performers of the Quintet were violinists Alexi Kenney and Benjamin Beilman, violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, and cellists Kyril Zlotnikov and Zlatomir Fung.
Palo Alto-born violinist Alexi Kenney, was heard recently soloing with the San Diego Symphony in Bartok’s Violin Concerto #2. He led his forces in fine ensemble. Benjamin Beilman is also an acclaimed solo violinist. Violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt is founding member of the Dover Quartet and cellist Kyril Zlotnikov is a founding member of the Jerusalem Quartet.
Summerfest Director, Inon Barnatan is to be congratulated, not only for his unique programming, bringing us seldom performed works like Penderecki’s Quartet for Clarinet and String Trio, but for assembling some of the finest instrumentalists in the world for Summerfest.
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Eileen Wingard, a retired violinist with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts.