First Frank Almond had a chamber music series at Villa Terrace for several years. Then in 2004 Frankly Music began. For 15 years now Almond has sustained chamber music at an international level of excellence, constantly bringing in first-class guest musicians through his wide network of contacts. The sold-out Frankly Music concert last week at Wisconsin Lutheran College served as an exclamation point to the season.
Arnold Schoenberg is thought of as the man who destroyed tonality in music and impacted all western classical music after him. But Schoenberg’s early compositions were in a late romantic style, highly influenced by Richard Wagner’s mature work, with its constantly shifting tonal centers. Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night) from 1899 is the most prominent Schoenberg work in this style.
Transfigured Night is almost an operatic treatment of a poem by Richard Dehmel for string sextet and tells the story of a woman’s tortured confession to her lover that she is pregnant and that he is not the father. The man lovingly reassures her, and the unborn baby is transfigured into his child that they will raise together. The music moves through many moods, from brooding, to anxious, to melodrama, to romantic sweetness and peace.
Almond was joined by noted cellist Lynn Harrell, as well as Helen Nightengale (violin), Wei-Ting Kuo (viola), Nicole Sutterfield (viola), and Madeleine Kabat (cello) in an inspired performance full of drama and nuance. It’s a small miracle that a piece this difficult could come together in a couple of rehearsals, with such spot-on tuning and refined ensemble.
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Felix Mendelssohn was only sixteen years old when he composed his Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20, certainly one of the most beloved pieces in string chamber music. Violinists Alex Ayers and Yuka Kadota joined the players for an exciting performance. This Octet is almost a mini symphony. I don’t know how the breathless, scurrying third movement could be played any faster, yet remained nimble and controlled. Then the tempo for final movement seemed to even top that in speed. This was a crowd-pleasing performance, with the audience cheering and demanding bow after bow.
