Prometheus Trio’s Pleasing Evening of Schubert, Martinů and Dvorak

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Photo Credit: Jennifer Brindley

The Prometheus Trio, resident piano trio of the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, presented an ambitious program on Monday of Schubert, Martinů and Dvorak. I remember a Prometheus concert from a few years ago that also featured Schubert and Martinů works of exceptional difficulty. This group has a knack for presenting under-the-radar chamber music gems, and also for working very hard!

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Photo via Milwaukee Chamber Music Fest

Beth Breslin Kiefer

Beth Breslin Kiefer

Both of the pieces on the first half were piano quartets, for which guest violist Beth Breslin Kiefer of the Milwaukee Symphony joined. I thought I had heard all of Schubert’s chamber works, but his Adagio and Rondo D. 487 had eluded me. The Adagio portion is not his best music, and the performance was a bit too straightforward to elevate it, but I liked the blend of Beth Breslin Kiefer and violinist Emmy Tisdel Lohr when they played in harmony. The Rondo was more successful, with pleasing Schubertian flair and solo highlights. The ensemble also played more in sync and with more sparkle. Pianist Stefanie Jacob ably executed the demanding piano part, effective in both cadenzas and accompaniment textures. I hadn’t heard a concert in the Conservatory’s Helen Bader Hall in a while, and the acoustics of the room seemed to magnify the piano. Even quiet piano cadenzas came across as a bit loud.

Bohuslav Martinů’s Piano Quartet No. 1 is a piece I’ve grown to love in recent years and have dreamed of either hearing it live or playing it. The Prometheus Trio’s decision to mount it is commendable. I also wish I could have plopped the group in front of an audience of impressionable college students or something, to point to how exciting chamber music can be. But hypotheticals aside, this piece and this performance pointed to a tricky topic in music programming: the tension between wanting to present a great work and knowing what’s reasonable. The Martinů would be a challenge for just about any ensemble, and here we had very talented players who were still hampered by the demands of the music enough that the interpretation often stayed at a surface level. The fiercely exacting first movement had some issues of balance and which parts to emphasize in the texture. Everyone seemed to be in survival mode, just getting through. I will say that Stefanie Jacob offered a very nice cadenza, and Kiefer seemed to have the best sense of the style.

Appropriate Intensity

The Adagio, with a lengthy section for strings alone, was played with appropriate intensity and deep feeling. But I’m thinking about the acoustics again; every dynamic here seemed to be one notch higher than intended. I don’t recall hearing anything below mezzo-forte in this whole movement, which resulted in an overall lack of contrast. In the third movement, I really enjoyed Jacob’s take on the opening piano solo, more lyrical and autumnal than I’d heard before. The reading of this movement bustled with energy and offered moments of power. But, again, a general lack of dynamic contrast. The finish was exciting though. Hearing this great work come to life in Milwaukee was special, and maybe Prometheus will take another crack at it as the interpretation settles in.

In Dvorak’s “Dumky” Trio, cellist Scott Tisdel finally got a chance to shine. He’s such a calm, collected chamber musician, and so economical in his movements, that sometimes his contributions can blend seamlessly into the texture. But here he soared in many lyrical solos across these movements. He and his daughter Emmy Tisdel Lohr seemed to really settle into this music and own it. The Adagio second movement brought a sense of breath and (finally) some real piano dynamics. Jacob’s piano sparkled in the contrasting Vivace. All the slower movements in the piece came off quite beautifully, with soulful strings and liquid piano tone. The faster sections still showed virtuosity, but the lack of complication compared to Martinů allowed for a more polished, vivid performance.

Before the encore, Stefanie Jacob mentioned that it was the birthday of both Martinů and Sibelius. To honor the latter as well, they played an arrangement of Valse Triste for piano quartet, with Kiefer rejoining. Their reading had a pleasing group rubato, with some lovely melodic playing from Lohr.

The Prometheus Trio is still going strong, and even after many years they take big swings with unfamiliar and/or difficult works of the rich chamber repertoire. This was a solid evening of music, and Beth Breslin Kiefer slotted into the group well. I’d be interested to hear more “Prometheus and Friends” concerts featuring a piano quartet or quintet.