Tess Remy-Schumacher, cello, & Lois Hobbs Yu, piano, at Northminster Baptist
Church, April 20, 2008
The program consisted of with Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy's Sonata for
Violoncello and Piano op. 58 no. 2 in D major, Astor Pantaleon Piazzolla's
Le Grand Tango for Violoncello and Piano, and Edvard Grieg's Sonata
for Violoncello and Piano op. 36 in a minor. In all these pieces the piano
is an equal partner, and all were played with a great deal of enthusiasm
by both musicians. In the Mendelssohn, Remy-Shumacher was simply
dazzling - both aurally and visually, as her left hand at times danced
up and down the fingerboard as if possessed. Her sound was at all times
beautiful and expressive. Yu's playing was equally powerful. Piazolla's
'Tango' was an energetic and appealing work that showed off both
performers' versatility. In the Grieg, there were many solo passages
for the cello - when the piano was silent - which showed the high
level of Grieg's craftsmanship, and provided dramatic contrasts between
the two instruments. Also, for the cello, there were several moments when
it was the right (bow) hand's turn to seem possessed, with extended
arpeggiated passages up and down the four strings while the left hand
was relatively motionless. It was clear that Remy-Schumacher and Yu gave
their total selves - body and soul - to the music - to the audience's
great delight.
-Glenn A. Gentry