Johann Nepomuk Hummel

HUMMEL TRANSCRIPTIONS FEATURED IN FESTIVAL'S FOURTH CONCERT

There are times when hearing a concert in an intimate space is more suitable to an inspired musical performance, as opposed to the large venues we occupy today. Such was the concert heard June 24 in Tiburon’s cozy St. Hilary Church, part of the Tiburon Music Festival, when pianist Paul Smith led cellist Farley Pearce, violinists Pamela Carey and Susannah Barley, and flutist Carol Adee in stunning performances of four virtuoso works by Beethoven, Mozart and Korngold.

The program opened with the Overture to “Prometheus” by Beethoven, reworked for small orchestra by the composer’s contemporary Johann Hummel (1778-1837). This was followed by Mozart’s early Concerto for Piano in E Flat, K. 107, also a reworking but this time from a piano sonata by Johann Christian Bach (1732-1795). Both works were beautifully performed and set the mood and spirit for the evening. Smith’s brief chats prior to each piece explored the customs of the time where reworking large orchestra works for smaller halls made their performance more accessible to audiences of the era.

Perhaps the most brilliantly performed compositions of concert were the final two pieces, Erich Korngold’s Suite for Piano (left hand) and Strings, Op. 23, and Mozart’s Piano Concerto in D-minor, K. 466. Composed in 1930, the Suite was commissioned by the Austrian pianist, Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm in World War I. Smith’s performance, deftly supported with a small group (two violins and cello), was a true tour de force reading. Other than his vibrant film scores, the Violin Sonata and the opera Die Tote Stadt, little Korngold is now performed, and special thanks is due to Smith for his daring programming. It is indeed less corn and more gold.

The D-Minor Piano Concerto, from 1785, is one of Mozart’s most performed concertos, and in the Hummel arrangement Smith’s fine reading, backed by the orchestra’s suave accompaniment, brought out the spirit of the Mozart’s sublime creation. The second-movement Romanze was particularly well played, the strident second theme in G Minor contrasting the peaceful ending. It should be noted that Smith did not play the cadenzas Hummel composed for the concerto, but instead used the cadenzas written by the Bay-area pianist and composer, Julian White.

The concert, the fourth in the Festival’s second season, was well attended and clearly this new Festival is prospering with the schedule guided by St. Hilary producers Vincent Stadlin and Kenneth Graham. More seasons are certainly desirable.