Billed as a program of works representing early forays into Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello, to their credit the musicians of Seraphim Trio: Helen Hayes (violin), Tim Nankervis (Cello) and Anna Goldsworthy (Piano) chose 18th, 19th and 21st century works. Once again congratulations to The Independent Theatre for hosting the event with all the right charm and professionalism.
As a theatre reviewer and not a musician I engage with the drama and narrative that lies within the music on offer. I am also fascinated with the mindset of the composer at the time of creating the work. For indeed this program contained pieces from those two troubled souls – Robert Schumann (1810-1856) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). Research informs me that Schumann was, much like Mozart, also tormented by a spectre of death, a victim of irregular hyperactivity and mood swings, who was eventually caught in a downward spiral of failing mental health.
Mozart’s Piano Trio in G major, K 496 dates from 1786 at the time of his great success with The marriage of Figaro. Indeed this prolific, albeit burdensome, time may explain the unusual amount of corrections in red ink that appear in this piece’s extant sheet music Was the wunderkind on the turn? Of the three movements Helen Ayres writes that though his trio “may not be a virtuosic as Hayden’s, they are significant for creating a brand new world of sonority and equality in this combination of instruments, particularly for the cello, which takes its first steps to melodic freedom”.
The Schumann offering was his Piano Trio No 1 in D minor, Op.63. Composed in 1847 – a year of much travel and overwork for himself and his wife Clara, a gifted pianist and composer in her own right. The Schumann’s suffered the death of their first child that same year perhaps adding to the rise of Robert’s feelings of melancholy. Ms Ayres write ”…while Schumann’s lyrical genius is most evident in his songs and short piano pieces, the D minor trio represents glimpses of the madness destined to haunt Schumann’s later life”
These two works were separated by a brilliant contemporary piece by Jakub Jankowski (b.1994). His Piano Trio No. 1 is entitled Silhouettes and was premiered at this performance. It is always a thrill to discover new work, but from a living composer and one so young is even more exciting. But then were not Mozart and Schumann well on their way by age 24 as well? Mr Jankowski hails from Adelaide and is an Honours graduate from the Elder Conservatorium. His earlier work is already award winning and being played on the international scene. His trio was exquisitely played by the Seraphim Trio employing all the dexterity (bowing, plucking, pausation and sudden stops) demanded by the work. Addressing the audience Jankowski highlighted how his work in seven movements expanded outwards from the centre rather than developing in a linear manner. The hypnotic metre of the first two movements (Reflection 1 and Interlude 1) were most impressive and conjured a filmic score of sinister intent. Following form the third movement was a Scherzo and in true style skipped and danced through are senses. Ingeniously the movements then were revisits of mood with Reflections II & III and an interlude II and Scherzo II. The Reflections were mesmerising encompassing taps and claps, tuning effects and dramatic music hesitations creating an environmental world rich with birdsong and imagined landscapes.
Jakub Jankowski is an astonishing talent and one to look out for in the years to come. Let’s hope we hear more from him and that his work is further encouraged by those with the power to do so.
Mark G Nagle – Theatre Now & On The Town
