A lesson on chamber music

Piano And Wind; Reykjavik Wind Quintet; Vovka Ashkenazy, piano

The US Marine Band annually presents a chamber music series made up of eight chamber music recitals. Three of them typically occur during the month of October. They intersperse the remaining five recitals over the course of the winter and spring months from January to May.

What is chamber music? Chamber music has only one rule: The performing personnel must number more than one. Piano and violin, two clarinets, brass quartet, flute choir, string trio with trumpet, piccolo and percussion, harp-bassoon-accordion trio, any combination will do. I know of no magic maximum number, but the term “chamber” implies intimacy. A song performed by seventy-six trombones as chamber music because it has more than one trombone would be a hard sell.

During my time in “The President’s Own”, I compiled a list of pieces that I wanted to play during the chamber music series, you know, as long as I was surrounded by some of the world’s finest musicians. The first piece that I made happen came from the composing pen of W.A. Mozart. A piano quintet uses one piano and four other instruments, usually one piano, two violins, one viola and a cello. Herr Mozart, however, composed his Piano Quintet in E-Flat Major, K. 452, for piano, oboe, clarinet, horn (French horn) and bassoon.

I think that I previously explained to you that, in a concerto (solo instrument and large ensemble), an “us vs. her (or him)” perspective forms the basis of two components. The members of the large ensemble, usually an orchestra, may have an opportunity to play a solo for a few measures within the concerto, but “Star” status is usually reserved for the solo instrumentalist.

In chamber music, each player usually gets to solo at some point in the piece, but no one instrument carries the title of “exclusive soloist”. Everybody solos, everybody accompanies. In Herr Mozart’s piano quintet, the pianist plays some achingly beautiful melodies in a solo capacity, but the most graceful writing occurs when the piano assists the other players in accompanying someone else’s solo within the piece. I thoroughly enjoyed our performance of this piece and look forward to another opportunity to play it soon.

Francis Poulenc’s Piano Sextet for piano, flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon never got programmed during my time in the US Marine Band. I had heard about it but never heard it until about five years ago when curiosity got the best of me. I found a recording of the Reykjavik Wind Quintet and pianist Vovka Ashkenazy playing piano and wind chamber music by M. Poulenc, Mr. Rimsky-Korsakov, M. Francaix, M. Saint-Saens and Vincent d’Indy.

French music circles in the 1920’s aligned M. Poulenc with a group of French composers called “Les Six”. This revolutionary group endeavored to compose in a contemporary style in reaction against the maudlin music of Richard Wagner and the Impressionistic composers. Though written in the 20^th century style, the Piano Sextet is accessible to the ears of the musical layman. Sometimes it sounds like the soundtrack for a Tom and Jerry cartoon, sometimes like a ride out in the French countryside.

I have placed Iceland on my list of places I would like to visit. I don’t know the best time to travel there, though; when their economy needs my help, or when their economy is back to where it was. I asked someone the other day: What’s the capital of Iceland. He said, “About $3.50”.

Credits: To the artistically-aware people of Reykjavik, for knowing the value and importance of the arts in the life of the average person.