Program a breath of fresh air

Too often chamber-music concerts are marred by predictability. Soloists and ensembles tend to make program choices based on marketability rather than on artistic considerations. They seem to be driven by the notion that audiences will only come if they can hear the war-horses of the repertoire.

That assumption was dispelled Wednesday at a concert given by members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, currently on a cross-country tour of the United States. Playing to a nearly full house, the musicians' innovative program was a breath of fresh air in the otherwise stale environment of most chamber music concerts.

The evening opened with flutist Ransom Wilson, cellist Fred Sherry and pianist Andre-Michel Schub giving a wondrous performance of George Crumb's profoundly evocative "Vox Balaenae" ("Voice of the Whale"). One of the most inventive and original composers today, Crumb's work is as fresh now as it was more than 30 years ago when it was new — perhaps even more so, given the insipid quality of many of the works that are written today.

Crumb was inspired to write "Vox Balaenae" after hearing a tape recording of whale sounds a few years earlier. And by using only three instruments, which are amplified, Crumb recreates these sounds by employing a slew of special effects. The flutist is instructed to hum and sing while blowing into his instrument; the cellist makes extensive use of glissandi; and the pianist is frequently asked to strum and pluck the strings inside the piano, or prepare it a la John Cage by placing various objects on the strings.

"Vox Balaenae" is rich in color and texture. It's a beautifully lyrical and expressive piece, the main body of which is basically a set of variations after the lengthy flute solo that opens the work. Wilson, Sherry and Schub gave a potent and dynamic performance that captured the transcendent quality of Crumb's work.

The first half ended with Haydn's Symphony No. 94 ("Surprise"), in an arrangement for string quartet, flute and piano by Salomon, the impresario who convinced Haydn to come to England and write a set of symphonies for the occasion. Wilson, Sherry and Schub were joined by violinists Ani Kavafian and Jennifer Frautschi and violist Paul Neubauer for a delightful performance that was articulate, lucid and full of spontaneity and spirit.

The string players and Schub returned after intermission to close out the concert with a dramatic and impassioned reading of Franck's ardent and eloquent Piano Quintet in F minor. A masterpiece of 19th century chamber music, the quintet is an emotionally bold work of almost boundless proportions. The five artists captured the forceful character of the work with their insightful performance that probed the heart of the music and revealed its inherent lyricism.

E-MAIL: ereichel@desnews.com