I made my way over to Hell’s Kitchen last night to see a wonderful recital, part of the new Baryshnikov Arts Center’s Movado Hour series. These monthly concerts – which are free – feature world-class musicians and include free wine and snacks. Past concerts this season have featured Gidon Kremer, Philip Glass, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet.
The Baryshnikov Arts Center opened on West 37th Street in 2005 to house the Baryshnikov Dance Foundation, founded by Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1979. The Movado Hour is part of the foundation’s larger mission to foster an interest in all the arts, including dance, music, theater, film, and design.
While I was in the entrance hall getting my drink, Baryshnikov himself came out of his office to greet some visitors. He was dressed neatly in a suit and dark shirt, and wore silver-rimmed glasses. I never had the chance to see Baryshnikov perform live, but I was still taken aback by the great man’s presence. Nervously, I stopped over to thank him for his generosity.
"Thank you for coming," he said to me gracefully, in his familiar Russian accent.
The concert took place inside one of the center’s dance studios, which had been outfitted with round tables and chairs in order to make the room resemble a salon – which was, after all, the original setting for most chamber music performances. I saw Baryshnikov standing along the back wall throughout, presumably preferring not to be noticed.
The program included early 20th Century music by Antonin Dvorak, Bela Bartok and Arnold Schoenberg. Between pieces, the engaging young violinist Jennifer Frautschi spoke about the composers and their intentions in these works. I thought her comments were thoughtful, clear and concise, and certainly added to my appreciation of the music. For example, she told us that Dvorak’s Miniatures for String Trio was written for the unusual combination of two violins and a viola because Dvorak (a violist) and his wife (a violinist) had a violinst lodging with them, and Dvorak wanted to give them all something to play.
"He made both violin parts extremely difficult," she said. "But, he made his own viola part pretty easy. He actually wasn’t that good of a violist."
The highlight was Schoenberg’s Verklarte Nacht, in it’s original instrumentation for two violins, two violas, and two cellos. Frautschi told us about the somewhat graphic poem by Richard Dehmel on which it is based, about a young girl who cheats on her lover and becomes pregnant, only to have the lover agree to marry her and raise the other man’s child as his own. She asked how many in the audience had never heard the piece before; well over half the room raised their hands.
"Wow, I am so envious of you," she said. "I’ll never forget the first time I heard this piece, when I was thirteen. It is still one of the most powerful musical experiences I’ve ever had."
Indeed, the group – which included cellist Marc Johnson of the Vermeer Quartet, and violist Hsin-Yun Huang of the Borromeo Quartet – offered a captivating performance, enhanced by dramatic lighting which shifted with the varying intensity of the work. As I listened, I couldn’t help thinking to myself what an incredible ballet Verklarte Nacht would make; perhaps I wasn’t the only one in the room with that thought.
The next concert will be on April 2nd at 7pm, and features the Gryphon Piano Trio, playing works by Haydn and Ravel, as well as a new work by Kelly-Marie Murphy. The reservation line opens one week prior to the concert, and will close once the venue has reached capacity. Get your’s in early.