Franz Schubert: Violin Sonata No. 4 in A Major, Op. posth. 162, D 574 (Grand Duo)
Johannes Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 3 in D Minor, Opus 108
Silvia Borghese: Violin
Sofia Donato: Piano
After a reasonably music-filled winter in Rome, I moved to Naples with no specific plan, except enjoying its unique landmarks, famous sunshine and fabulous cuisine, and leaving the rest to chance. And sure enough, a few days after my arrival I noticed an advertisement for classical music concerts while walking by the Teatro Diana, one of the Vomero neighborhood’s most popular live theater venues, which occasionally branches out and offers live music performances.
The chamber music concert on April 17, in particular, caught my attention with the photo of two lovely young ladies, a predictable but still appealing program featuring Mozart, Schubert and Brahms, and a 5:30 PM starting time (Yes!!!). After all, there’s nothing wrong about going back to the core repertoire once in a while, never mind that I had already lingered there pretty much all winter. So, I got tickets for my friend Vittorio and me, and I started counting down the days.
And then, on Friday morning, as we were looking forward to the concert later on, all hell broke loose, or at least our plans were slightly derailed, when Vittorio went to the hospital for routine prep tests before his operation the following Wednesday and was told he had to stay there if he did not want to lose his place in line (oh, and the hospital gets a per diem subsidy for each bed occupied too).
I therefore ended up taking the pleasant walk to the Teatro Diana by myself, a bit frazzled by my unexpectedly hectic day, and happy to take a break between work commitments, trips to the hospital and various errands. Once I had arrived, I discovered that the theater was a nondescript medium-size space boasting a modern design and red color scheme, and that the crowd consisted of long-time regulars of a certain age who made me feel like I belonged to the youngest demographics in the room, which never fails to cheer me up.
The concert started with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s light-hearted Violin Sonata in G Major, K.301/293a, a youthful composition that the equally young duo handled with ease. Clocking at barely 15 minutes, it went by so breezily that, at the end, it took the audience a couple of seconds to grasp that it was indeed over. By then, I had also realized that I had unknowingly bought tickets for seats deep under the balcony and that the theater’s acoustics were decent but not particularly flattering. Consequently, I give the musicians a lot of credit for sounding as good as they did from where I sat.
Next, Franz Schubert’s beautifully lyrical Violin Sonata No. 4 in A Major showed us a promising composer coming into his own while still relentlessly honing his craft. Compared to his previous efforts, this substantial work displayed more complexity and exuded more confidence; it also incidentally confirmed the impressive skills and effortless compatibility of Borghese and Donato.
And since there’s no stopping the young and talented, the intrepid pair moved on to Johannes Brahms’ Violin Sonata No. 3 in D Minor, Opus 108 after a surprisingly short pause. Fact is, I will always have a special place in my heart for grumpy old Brahms, and on Friday evening, it sounded like most of the audience felt the same way according to the rapturous applause that spontaneously erupted after the stunning first movement. And who could possibly argue with that?
His third and last violin sonata is a highly emotional affair that uncharacteristically aims straight for the heart. Brahms was at the top of his game when he composed it, and by leveraging his acquired experience and his innate perfectionism, he came up with a carefully crafted and intensely dramatic piece, in which the two quieter middle movements are book-ended by unapologetically large-scale ones. The two ladies did not let the challenging nature of the task at hand intimidate them though, and they enthusiastically delivered a riveting performance of it.
In fact, this last work on the program was such an all-around success that the literally unstoppable duo treated us to the thrillingly kaleidoscopic last movement one more time as an encore, which was the perfect way to wrap up a manic Friday and get ready for a more relaxing weekend.
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