There is a relatively new venue for great acoustics and great musicians at the Calderwood Hall at the Isabella Stewart Museum. The hall is built in a square. On the floor there are two rows of seats on each side and one row on each of the three balconies. (see picture at right). On 3/17/2013, chamber music by musicians from Marlboro played. They were: They were, Ida Levin, Michelle Ross, violins; Emily Dean, Michael Tree, violas; and Gabriel Cabeza and Pail Wiancko, Cellos.
The first quartet number (Haydn) was quite predictable for those who have experienced Haydn before If one felt, instead of listening for form, you could hear mosquitoes, bull frogs, and other sounds of Nature. It was String Quartet in G Major, Opus 77, No. 1for those of you who may be familiar with the piece. Haydn is predictable and a bit like a metronome but the music is pleasant. The musicians from Marlboro were superb.
No matter how I try to enjoy the classical world, someone is always slipping in a Schoenberg piece. This was was a trio, Op. 45. I will be happy never to hear the first 44. It started with squeaks followed by the sound of rushing water in a flooding river where the debris was backing up. It then drifted off to sleep with quiet. It changed to horrible discordant sounds (as Shoenberg's version of 'different') with more squeaks and thumps. It was an exercise in tolerance for me. A growling cello made flatulent sounds then tip-toed toward sounds I thought I would never experience again of fourth graders struggling to make musical sounds as they practiced on their stringed instruments. It pained me that such well trained musicians were forced to sound as though they were suffering (or was that an echo from me?). The piece then turned to scary music (if one were playing for a silent movie) with lots of suspense building with some naps intruding. It felt like a climbing to the attic to find ghosts misbehaving. At times it sound like the chitter-chatter of gossips having tea. Fortunately, three excellent musicians on strings could not disturb my brain with Shoenberg as much as a huge Symphony Orchestra did with the massive sounds it can produce. New movements began with a pop of a string that sounded like a champagne cork.
The final number was String Quartet in F Major, Op. 41. No. 2 by Robert Schumann. The first movement started with a feeling of lying on a water bed, rocking with gentle waves. It was soothing as a lullaby and, since the audience was mostly senior citizens, it worked that way and there were many drooping heads and closed eyes. The second movement woke everyone up the last two shut off the snooze button, both being 'presto'.
The musicians have been trained by their use of bows and body language that indicated they are not through playing, only taking a slight break between movements. It was refreshing not to see the mortification of those who would start to applaud with gusto of those unfamiliar with the piece. I realize that i hear music with my emotions and body as well as the instruments for pitch and all the other criteria that maks good musicians.
For those who love concerts, I cannot recommend the Calderwood Hall highly enough, as it deserves.
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