Last night I went to the Camerata Musica concert given by the Finisterra Piano Trio from Seattle. I’d not heard of this group before and they are relatively new on the scene having just formed in 2003. The artists in the group, Tanya Stambuk (pinao), Kwan Bin Park (violin), and Kevin Krentz (cello), are all excellent musicians in their own right and each have an impressive resume. The program consisted of Beethoven’s Trio in Bl flat Major, Opus 11, Dvoraek’s Trio in E Minor, Opus 90/B166 “Dumky”, and a new composition by Daron Aric Hagen (commissioned for the Trio), Piano Trio No 4: Angel Band.
The execution of all of the pieces was flawless. Finisterra was simply in-sync with each other. You call tell when a group has chemistry. All of the artists have a level of physical expression and you can see that they are just enjoying every moment of their performance, just a joy to watch. This carries over into their musical expression and each piece of the evening has a life of its own. Beethoven never disappoints as you would expect. The Davoraek I had not heard before and was six “fleeting thoughts” inspired by Eastern European folk music, but of his own composition. The gem of the evening was the work by Hagen, an American composer who has studied with other greats such as Copland and Burnstein. The work chronicled the life if the matriarch of the family who commissioned the work. The first half of the work centered around a Southern hymn (remicent of some of Edgar Mayer’s work) and they migrated in to a purely modern work. Quite good, you can hear it for yourself on Finisterra’s website.
I expect a bright future for this ensemble. They are young and eager to share their passions with audiences and you should catch one of their concerts if you have a chance.
