Chamber music finals culminate in evening group

We heard some really fine playing in the second of the two chamber music finals groups. I would even venture to say that the overall impression was consistently higher than in the earlier session.

Yoonhung Han was back in top form after a slight dip in the second round. The Brahms Trio op. 101 was immediately intensive and homogeneous. Violinist Annemarie Åström and cellist Markus Hohti gave an all-round musical performance from the very first moment and the interpretation was truly magnificent. The performance was a wonderful combination of warmth, strength and lyricism. Han succeeded in balancing her playing so that the strings were heard yet she did so without economising over the great fortissimo nuances. She was, moreover, note perfect. I would suspect that Han has played this work before, because her performance was so unbelievably polished. I cannot remember ever hearing such a good performance in concert of a Brahms chamber music work.

It’s difficult to say who the better pianist in the chamber music finals was: Yoonjung Han or Roope Gröndahl. Because it’s hard to compare not only pianists but the Brahms and Shostakovich Trios as well. They are very different works and demand different skills in their players. In any case Roope gave his best performance to date in this competition. Everything was just as it should be in the Shostakovich Trio no. 2 op. 67. The balance was brilliant and the interpretation focused and clear. Added to which Roope’s playing had the mysticism that inspired violinist Reeta Maalismaa and cellist Joel Laakso to join in making each moment unique. Like Yoonjung Han, Roope has mastered the art of letting the string players have their say yet also unhesitatingly displaying brute force when this is required. The Klezmer characters in the finale were manic and the agogics worked incredibly well. The climax thundered and the end was enigmatic in just the right way. All in all an earth-shaking performance!

Violetta Khachikian had chosen to play the Brahms Trio op. 101. It was once again obvious what a refined musician she is. The second movement in particular made the audience melt in their seats. Magnificent handling of melody! In the third movement, too, she demonstrated her skill at tracing long arches. But her playing sounded too muted, especially in the outer movements. It was as if she were going to the other extreme in her chamber music mode, making so much room for the strings that even the loudest piano passages were slightly too controlled and soft. In other respects, too, her playing was somewhat marked by caution. Had she maybe practised this work less? In spite of everything her ability to “latch onto” the strings’ timbre and to guide the music from one event to the next was so fine that her performance was one of the best in the chamber music finals.

How interesting it was to see yet another new player configuration emerge in this round! Once again slightly different players rose above the others. The jury will have quite a job trying to allow for both the chamber music and the concerto in addition to taking into account all the performances in the previous rounds. Because placing the contestants in any sort of ranking order seems to be increasingly difficult. I’m really looking forward to the concertos!

Risto-Matti Marin