Standing ovation well deserved
Astanding ovation following a night of jazz and folk-inspired chamber music was rewarded with a Michael Jackson encore as the Viano String Quartet amazed and surprised its Kelowna audience in a concert Friday night at the Mary Irwin Theatre.
The Los Angeles-based quartet opened the show with Strum: Music for Strings by Jessie Montgomery, a New York violinist/composer.
The piece began with a bluesy pizzicato (plucking the string) performed by expressive violist Aiden Kane, setting the mood for a distinctly American folk style and abounding with energetic dance rhythms. The texture was rich and dramatic with the musicians rapidly switching back and forth from pizzicato strumming and picking to arco (using the bow). The Viano, with Hao Zhou taking the part of first violin in this piece, is particularly adept at playing the rhythmic, jazzy style.
The second work of the evening, Sergei Prokofiev’s String Quartet No. 2 “on Kabardinian Themes” is quite relevant for our turbulent times, as it was written during a period of great turmoil and personal suffering when Prokofiev was evacuated to a Kabardinian town following Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.
At the suggestion of the local government, Prokofiev employed rhythmic and harmonic features of the traditional Kabardino-Balkar folk music of the region. The musicians excelled in the dramatic, energetic, angstfilled percussive sections as well as in the melodic sections where they demonstrated a gorgeous singing tone.
The texture was clear and perfectly balanced so that the structure of the music was evident to the audience. The cello cadenza in the the Andante molto of the third movement was very beautifully and expressively performed by Tate Zawadiuk. The first violinist in this piece was Lucy Wang, who played with a beautiful soaring tone and great technical prowess.
In the second half of the program, the musicians performed Alexander Borodin’s Quartet #2, which is famous for its slow movement Notturno or night music.
The two violins blended beautifully in the lovely contrapuntal treatment of the melodic material, with Lucy Wang playing first violin.
The Chamber Music Kelowna audience gave a standing ovation at the conclusion of the dramatic and very aggressive Finale, earning a surprising encore, the Michael Jackson song Smooth Criminal which the Viano musicians arranged themselves. Hao Zhou played first violin in this dramatic performance which again demonstrated the jazz abilities of the performers, including a wonderful and laid-back improvisation near the end by violist Aiden Kane.
The audience rewarded the encore performance with another well-deserved standing ovation accompanied by cheering.
The Viano quartet formed in 2015 at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles. Their name comes from the fact that
the names of the instruments begin with a “v” but like a piano, they act as one instrument playing both melody and harmony. The musicians are Lucy Wang and Hao Zhou, violins, Aiden Kane, viola, and Tate Zawadiuk, (violon) cello.
The two violins share the roles of first and second violin, which seems to strengthen both individuals and the quartet as a whole. The violist Aiden Kane turned to the audience whenever she had thematic material and allowed her beautiful, mellow viola sound to fill the hall.
In keeping with Chamber Music Kelowna’s commitment to outreach in Kelowna, the Viano performed at Casorso Elementary School for first, second and third graders who were a most attentive audience with great questions, a tribute to the music teacher Laura Mireau and the quartet for inspiring the children.
Karen Krout is a retired violinist and teacher who is fortunate enough to continue playing chamber music with friends.