Resonance concert - David Saffir

A great concert at Pitt St http://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/david-saffir-and-chris-cartner-pitt-st-uniting-church/ The first of this year’s Resonance concerts at Pitt St Uniting Church was splendid. As is the usual way, the concert was coordinated and introduced by Chris Cartner on piano and this time the special guest artist was David Saffir on violin. The concert was just glorious. We were treated to two of the most celebrated piano/violin sonatas in the classical repertoire. The first sonata by Brahms (1879) is regarded as one of the most lyrical and heart-warming works by the German master. It is a three-movement work containing references in the first and last movements to two of Brahms’s earlier pieces inspired by rain .This was paired with the majestic , luscious and extremely dramatic sonata by French composer Cesar Franck (1886). Both performers wore standard orchestral concert black and white. There was a very appreciative and responsive audience and the acoustics at the church provided a wonderful, warm tone. The first movement of the Brahms was replete with lyrical, eloquent playing. Cartner on piano rippled while Saffir on violin soared and pleaded and there was striking use of pizzicatto. Suddenly there was a fiery outburst from both instruments, then a return to relative calmness. The rest of the movement was more repetition of the main theme and contained explosive flurries, looping back to a melancholy waltz–like theme. The second movement, passionately played, was warm, powerful and haunting. The rhythm of the rain motif appearing in the middle of this movement was adapted to a sombre funeral march. The third movement continued the dialogue between the two instruments with lavish, lush playing .The haunting, delicate, rippling ending was magnificent. The second half of the programme consisted of the Cesar Franck sonata with dazzling, lyrical playing by both performers. All the movements shared common thematic threads and the work was cyclical in structure. In the first movement the main melody is stated and repeated on the violin, the piano is linked to it in a parallel, linked world. Cartner’s playing of this notoriously fiendishly difficult, yet exquisite , work was superb, emphatic and precise.Suddenly there are crashing chords and all becomes wild and whirling in a tempestuous frenzy. The violin and piano intertwine, eventually becoming sadder and far more thoughtful. Both state the melody and then there is a dance like section that brings us to the dramatic, dynamic conclusion. In the second movement the violin liltingly sobs and vibrates passionately while the piano delicately ripples its accompaniment –a fabulous Romantic passage. In the final, third movement Saffir on violin passionately stated and explored the melody, then there was an exhilarating, speedy dialogue between violin and piano. Suddenly passionate swirls erupted, there were furious flurries on both instruments and we leaped up at the breathless end. For an encore we had a delightful fast and spiky Brahms scherzo Running time – roughly an hour 10 mins ( approx) no interval David Saffir and Chris Cartner were at Christ Church Lavender Bay Friday 27 Feb , Hunter Bailie Church Annandale Sunday 1 March and then Pitt St Uniting Friday 6 March . For more information about David Saffir and Chris Cartner at Pitt St Uniting Church, visit http://www.resonance.net.au/