VAM QUARTET TURNS INTO A TRIO
With a wealth of competition for foursomes, ‘the timing couldn’t be more perfect’
In the corporate world, restructurings are commonplace. In the classical music world? Perhaps not so much. But the local chamber music scene is about to discover a significant change as the Koerner String Quartet, ensemble in residence at the Vancouver Academy of Music, becomes the Koerner Piano Trio.
As a string quartet, the Koerner was doing fine artistically and its concerts played to enthusiastic houses. Why the change?
The quartet world is very crowded. Witness the almost incredible richness on display at the triennial Banff String Quartet contest, happening in Alberta later this month. Competition is stiff and the commitment is massive. There is no easy road to success.
Plus there’s a specifically Vancouver X factor at play, as Koerner cellist Joseph Elworthy explained earlier this summer. The cost of living is prohibitive for many young players who just can’t afford it.
There are gigs and there is teaching, but musicians’ salaries are not keeping up with the times. One must also add that instruments for younger string players are an enormous expense. Add in Vancouver housing costs and it’s a dark situation. There is clear evidence that Vancouver continues to attract first-rate musicians, but retaining this talent is now the challenge.
Fortunately, both Elworthy (whose day job is executive director of the VAM) and violinist Nicholas Wright (co-department head, violin at the VAM and assistant concertmaster with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra) are staying with the ensemble they founded five years ago. Joining them is pianist Amanda Chan, head of the piano department at the VAM.
Chan says she is delighted to be part of the Koerner’s new configuration.
“I enjoy ensemble playing much more than solo work, mainly because I find myself challenged musically in a different way,” she says.
“The difficulty is finding the right ensemble partners, and we are all department heads and also friends, which makes finding rehearsal time together easier.”
It’s also an auspicious moment for the three to work together. “The timing couldn’t be more perfect, because we have established our careers and a new challenge and a new venture is possible now when it wouldn’t have been 10 years ago,” Chan says. “A prime motivation is to inspire our students.”
If the quartet repertoire is infused with a particular sense of gravitas, the available playlist for piano trios is distinguished in its own right, extending from the days of Haydn (who wrote nearly four dozen works for the combination) and Mozart through Beethoven, the romantics and the 20th century. There is a wealth of spectacular music to explore.
The Koerner Trio plans an ambitious inaugural offering of three afternoon concerts. They launch their season with Mozart, Mendelssohn and a work by contemporary composer Arvo Part on Nov. 20. There’s Haydn, Dvorak — his popular Dumky trio — and a neglected charmer by Vancouver’s Jean Coulthard on Feb. 12, 2017, and the new ensemble concludes the season with a celebration of French music with trios by Germaine Tailleferre, Faure and Ravel on June 4. All concerts, appropriately, are in the Koerner Recital Hall at the Vancouver Academy of Music in Vanier Park.