A Diverse Trio of Trios

Santa Cruz Chamber Players Triple Play

On Sunday, November 11 at the Christ Lutheran Church in Aptos, the Santa Cruz Chamber Players (SCCP) performed three wonderfully musical trios featuring Artistic Director Brian Johnston, violin and viola; Vlada Volkova-Moran, piano; Aude Castagna, cello; Kathleen Purcell, flute and Jennifer Cass, harp.

The program consisted of Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49 (1839) by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), Trio for flute, viola and harp (1915) by Claude Debussy (1862-1918) and the Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor, Op. 90, ‘Dumky’ (1890-91) by Antonin Dvorak, (1841-1904).

The SCCP is a highly trained, artistic “Grass Roots” musical ensemble/organization that is well worth the effort to hear perform. By the impressive increase in attendance, it appears the word has gotten out and it was especially impressive to see many youngsters in attendance!

The pronounced lush sound of Aude Castagna’s cello opened the Mendelssohn trio followed by attentive dynamic balance between the piano and viola. Vlada Volkova-Moran realized clean scale passages and arpeggios and Brian Johnston blended very musically to create a delightful overall texture. The bright, lively piano playing of the Scherzo movement was well done.

The opening of the Debussy Trio seemed to take flight in slow motion. The interesting trio of flute, violin and harp blended well creating typical, exotic Debussian textures. The opening of the second movement designated Interlude: Tempo di Minuetto contained tasteful hints of Spanish saffron that could have easily been mistaken for Maurice Ravel. The rhythmic start of the third movement served as a quasi-tremolo fabric against which the flute and violin wove fine melodic lines.

Dvorak followed his Slavic roots in composing the six movements of the Dumky Variations. Moments of Franz Liszt were obvious, although it’s difficult to compose music of this nature without alluding to the wizard of the piano, the prominent instrument of this trio. The violin and cello took full advantage of the opportunities to display their virtuosity. The concert ended with a well-deserved standing ovation by the enthusiastic audience. Special thanks and appreciation to Board President Sandra Ferguson, General Manager Michael Stamp and Board members for offering our community the opportunity to experience high quality music in an excellent venue.