Word: laredo
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...consist of indulging its audiences with the familiar while at the same time requiring that it ingest increasing amounts of the new and not so easily palatable. Pianist Leonard Shure opened the series with a completely traditional program of Chopin, Schubert and Beethoven; a week later Jamie and Ruth Laredo deferred to general taste with Bach and Beethoven, but managed to sneak in the somewhat post-Romanticist Sonata Concertante of contemporary Leon Kirchner; last night violinist Felix Galimir and his chamber ensemble (one almost expected the program to read "Felix Galimir and guests") went even further: avoiding the 19th century...
Fortunately, the Monday night concert fare at Sanders more than compensates for its geographic and acoustical disadvantages. Last night, Cambridge concertgoers were treated to a violin-piano sonata recital by professionals Jaime and Ruth Laredo. The young husband-and-wife team presented a program that was deftly complementary to the piano recital of Leonard Shure a week earlier. Once again a work of Beethoven provided us the cornerstone, this time one from his more extroverted second period--the Sonata in A major Op. 47 ("Kreutzer"). But if Shure concentrated on the nineteenth century, the Laredos almost seemed...
...Laredos' Bach was in the best Rosalyn Tureck tradition. Eschewing the harpsichord for the piano, Mrs. Laredo played lid up and with plenty of pedal. As a pianist myself I have nothing against treating the instrument as a full partner in chamber music rather than a subservient accompanist--in fact I welcome it. But the Laredos' Bach did have severe balance problems. Mr. Laredo very quickly demonstrated a full, rich tone and an easy command of dynamics on the violin. But he was more and more obliged to "force" in an attempt to hold his own against the superior string...
Strangely enough, they gave a more coherent performance of the Kirchner than of the much more familiar "Kreutzer" Sonata. Once again, balance was a problem. Ruth Laredo may be a woman but there is nothing mincing about her approach to the piano in general or to the "Kreutzer" in particular...
...spite of these shortcomings, the word that kept coming to mind was "exquisite." Jaime Laredo's near-flawless intonation enabled him to give the most moving rendition of the "Kreutzer's" opening double-stop solo I have ever heard. As one member of the audience said, it was a pleasure to sit back and to listen to a violinst without having to cringe. As a team the Laredos often seemed to compete with each other. But when they both agreed on a sound, the effect was breathtaking--as when Mrs. Laredo brought herself to match her husband's pianissimo...