The Colby Echo

Issue date: 10/7/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: Caroline Dickson

On Saturday night, the music of Clara and Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms came to life under the masterful hands of piano trio Triple Helix. The Artists-in-Residence at Wellesley College, Bayla Keyes (violin), Rhonda Rider (cello) and Lois Shapiro (piano) have been performing together since 1995 and are now known as one of today's best piano trios.

The program began with Robert Schumann's Trio in F Major, Op. 80. The dancing opening grabbed the audience's attention from the first chord, and as the piano continued the dance, the strings intensified it with a series of tremolos. The music passed lines from one instrument to another, like a conversation. Shapiro's hands literally bounced across the piano keys, and Keyes and Rider's tones were incredibly smooth, no matter what the articulation-this rang true throughout the entire concert. Transitions between keys, modulations, or voices were seamlessly worked in-in some cases, the registers of the two stringed instruments made it hard to tell that the melody had, in fact, changed instruments at all. The second movement had a sweet, sad melody that flowed through richly layered harmonies and varied musical subdivisions almost imperceptibly. The third movement also had a dancelike lilt to it, but unlike the first movement, was slower and more subdued. The final movement ended the trio with a bang as fingers flew through fast passages and musical ideas ran from one instrument to another.

Rounding out the first half of the concert was Clara Schumann's Trio in G minor, Op. 17. Before the group performed this piece, Shapiro shared a few excerpts from Clara's diary in which she wondered whether she, as a woman, should be composing at all. When she finished writing this trio, she noted that it sounded all right, and seemed fine in terms of form, but at the end of the day, was "still a woman's work." Clara couldn't have been more wrong-the piece was exquisitely crafted, with wonderful melodies and contrasting harmonies, and equally well executed. Outbursts of dynamic contrast spiced up the first movement, the strings soaring through their higher ranges but not compromising their expression for power. The second movement was playful and full of interesting rhythms. The third movement began with quietly resonating lines, like a lullaby, but abruptly transitioned to a more hurried and forceful middle section before returning to the smooth softness at the end. The last movement was once more upbeat, with a variety of technical demonstrations, but it still maintained the playful innocence that seemed to manifest itself throughout this work.

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