I brake for Chamber Music

So, catching up with the music scene, last week I took in a free concert of chamber music at CCM, featuring piano faculty member Elizabeth Pridonoff with CSO concertmaster Tim Lees, CSO cellist Ted Nelson and CCM faculty member Catharine Carroll, viola. Werner Recital Hall was absolutely packed with students, faculty and music lovers for this free concert.

The program opened with Beethoven's Piano Trio in B-flat, "Archduke." It was wonderful to hear this trio again, though I felt the string players were too restrained compared to Pridonoff's exuberant playing. After intermission, though, the entire group wowed with a high-voltage reading of Brahms' Piano Quartet in G Minor, the one with the "gypsy rondo" finale. It's an automatic crowd-pleaser, and the musicians played with genuine spontaneity and warmth.

It reminded me of the last time I played that quartet, with CSO musicians Marna Street (who was in the audience), Sylvia Samis and Geraldine Sutyak (now deceased). In the audience that night was then-principal guest maestro Ivan Fischer.

I decided to find out what Fischer is up to these days. A lot, it turns out. His latest record of Mahler's "Resurrection" Symphony with the Budapest Festival Orchestra was Gramophone magazine's Recording of the Month (Oct.). Later this month, he begins his tenure as principal guest conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C.

Be sure to check out CCM faculty recitals, virtually every night of the week, at www.ccm.uc.edu.