Gut Instinct’s Mimi Solomon and Nicolas DiEugenio. Photo Credit: Emma Green of the Daily Tarheel.
CHAPEL HILL, NC – Gut Instinct, North Carolina’s new, superb chamber music ensemble, gave a highly successful second concert. The group is devoted to performance on period instruments. Its name refers to playing with strings made of gut, which was the common practice up until the mid-20th century, rather than of metal, which has been the norm since that time. It is also meant to evoke the intent of giving emotionally immediate performances, beyond the connection to period practice.
The founders of the group and the series – and the two performers on this concert – are Nicholas DiEugenio, violin, and Mimi Solomon, here playing fortepiano; they are a husband-and-wife team, both of whom have enjoyed international careers and are on the faculty at UNC.
The period keyboard instrument featured here was a Pleyel fortepiano manufactured in 1843. The instrument is a permanent possession of UNC and a standout gem. There was a real authenticity, as the Pleyel was the favorite instrument of Frédéric Chopin, one of the composers heard on this concert. (Because it was manufactured in Chopin’s lifetime, it is distantly possible that he even played this instrument when frequenting the Pleyel showroom.) Instruments then were not yet standardized to the practices of today. The action is light and shallow, and the keys are slightly narrower. Centrally to the listener, the tone is markedly different from today’s grand pianos. It is mellower, with less brilliance. It is definitely a different experience to hear Chopin on the Pleyel, as mentioned, his own instrument of choice. Given its mellow tone, this keyboard has a more restrained dynamic range. The massive sonorities and powerful climaxes that we are accustomed to today are not especially in its character. This may help explain why Chopin preferred smaller performance spaces, as opposed to a touring virtuoso pianist like Liszt (who was more likely to play a Bösendorfer as he bestrode the stages of Europe).
Nicholas DiEugenio. violin. Photo Credit: Emma Green for the Daily Tarheel.
That said, a violin played with gut strings also has a mellower tone than the modern instrument. The bow too is relevant to playing an original instrument; DiEugenio was using a Vuillaume violin and bow, both coming from one of the most famous makers of the 19th century. This violin tone matches well with a fortepiano and the two in combination will give a different experience of otherwise familiar music.
The program was titled “Parisian Salon.” It resembled what might indeed have been a musicale in Paris in the later 19th century. Two of the composers, Pauline Viardot and Gabriel Fauré, could have performed in their own works on such a soirée; Chopin, a major pianist who died in 1849, could well have been represented by Viardot herself. (N.B.: Readers can see a photo of Chopin online, taken at the dawn of the technology!)
Viardot was the first composer heard. In what might be quintessential salon fashion, her six-piece set was divided into three parts by solo piano pieces, here by Chopin. Pauline Viardot (1821-1910) was a star soprano especially well-known for her performances in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Saint-Saëns dedicated his opera Samson and Delilah to her and had hoped she would sing the leading role. She was multi-lingual and an author as well. She had originally wanted to be a concert pianist and, highly accomplished, played duets privately with Chopin; the two had a close musical association. As a composer, she was highly praised by Liszt. After Chopin’s lifetime she was well-acquainted with the younger Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924), who was engaged for a few months to her daughter. In a certain way then, this concert presented a possible re-creation using original instruments, of a performance being given by friends. And it could have taken place in Viardot’s own salon, which was a gathering place in Paris.
The Six Morceau by Viardot is a set of short character pieces, a genre beloved of the 19th century in general, and of Chopin in particular. They are artfully written for the violin-piano combination. The piano part has some significant difficulty at times, and in such passages is as much chamber partner as accompanist.
The first two pieces played together were Romance and Bohémienne. The first, tuneful piece featured beautiful lines on the violin and was beautifully played – a quality that would recur during the program. The second had much verve, and also delicate pizzicatos in the middle section. The two performers collaborated sensitively, here and throughout the concert. A few heavier keyboard chords overshadowed the violin, but that was much the exception to the excellent balance.
Mimi Solomon performs on the fortepiano for The Gut Instinct Chamber Music Project on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. Photo credit: Emma Green of the Daily Tarheel.
This was followed by Chopin’s Nocturne in F minor. This often-played piece heard on the Pleyel gave, as mentioned, a different quality to familiar music. Solomon rendered it with heartfelt expression, and the Pleyel itself, with its quietly resonant tone, contributed to that ambiance. The ending features delicate filigree, which she played softly and beautifully.
Two more Viardot pieces followed: Berceuse and Mazurka. This pair could have been written in homage to her friend Chopin, whose own Berceuse is a study in the tonal beauty of the keyboard, and who wrote an entire book of mazurkas, a characteristic dance of his Polish homeland. Viardot’s Berceuse had a lovely mellow sound, and the mazurka captured a wistful lilt.
Chopin’s own Berceuse followed. Solomon projected variety within the narrow palette, a fine transparent tone. Then, after almost an entire piece in a single key, the shift near the end was lovingly colored. As in the nocturne, the filigree so characteristic of Chopin was beautifully played.
The half ended with the last two pieces of the Viardot set. The “Vieille Chanson” (Old Song) struck a tone redolent of the 19th-century harkening back to times past. The song-without-words style of Mendelssohn came to mind as well. This piece gave more opportunity for finely projected violin lines and sensitive balance. The shifts from minor to major were lovely. The ending Tarantelle is an example of a dance style much-loved in the 19th century and gave both performers opportunity to display virtuosity – in their case, near-effortless virtuosity. The piece and the set ended with the humorous touch of a soft cadence to the energetic revelry. With such a gesture among others, Viardot shows herself as a gifted composer.
The only enhancement to this evocation of a cultivated salon might have been a piece of Chopin featuring his more dramatic, technically brilliant – also influential – piano writing. Many possible pieces come to mind, some quite short. This would have expanded the dimensions of the event without significantly affecting its length.
After a micropause, the concert continued and concluded with the Sonata in A by Fauré. This beloved piece was played with all the impassioned, lyrical beauty one might hope for. There was brilliant playing too, though the accent in the first movement was more on the lyrical. The second movement featured more fine song-like playing on the violin with some beautiful high notes. The ending had an especially lovely tone. The fleet third movement showed low-key virtuosity, both performers being technically all but flawless. The B section was gentle, and the ending was delightful. The energized last movement brought the experience to an exciting conclusion.
Immediately afterwards, there was a talkback session between the performers and Max Owre, a professor of history at UNC. This gave some further perspective to the context of the concert and to Solomon’s own years in Paris which brought her to performing on original instruments.
Readers: don’t miss Gut Instinct’s concluding concert of the season, which will be performed twice: on Friday 28 February at 5:30pm (note the time) and the next day, 1 March at 7:30pm. Both will be in the same locale: Person Recital Hall on the UNC campus. For this recent performance, the small hall was full. The next one will feature music of Fanny Mendelssohn and the great string quintet by Schubert. Arriving early to get a seat is definitely recommended!
