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Chamber musicians think outside the box
A small ensemble performance this Sunday and next offers a welcome break for orchestra members.
By JOHN FLEMING
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 31, 2000
Being in a symphony orchestra is like working in a factory. Playing chamber music, on the other hand, is like having your own small, creative business.
A farfetched analogy?
Even the most disgruntled section player will concede that a Beethoven symphony is a long way from the assembly line. But the orchestra player as glorified clock puncher has just enough truth to strike a chord of recognition.
"I am always amazed at how hungry a lot of orchestra members are for chamber music," said pianist Chadd Merrigan, who plays chamber music almost exclusively. "I think it must have something to do with them feeling liberated from having to follow a conductor all the time."
Ellen dePasquale, once concertmaster of the Florida Orchestra, now associate concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra, loves the intimacy of chamber music. "In an orchestra, you have to fit into this big structure," she said. "But in chamber music, since it's a small ensemble, you have a degree of flexibility. I enjoy that direct communication and feeling of closeness between players and listeners."
Sunday afternoon, dePasquale gives a recital, with Merrigan, of sonatas by Prokofiev, Franck and Mozart, as well as other works, at the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg. A week later, violinist and pianist will be joined by James Connors, principal cello of the Florida Orchestra, in Schubert's B-flat Trio and Tchaikovsky's Trio in A minor.
Connors, a founder of Phoenix Chamber Music Society, mostly made up of orchestra principals, is looking forward to playing again with dePasquale, who left Florida for Cleveland a year and a half ago.
"Ellen is at the top of her game," he said. "It's almost like she's telepathic with what she's doing. I find it very easy to read what she's doing and what she's going to do next. She's very good at projecting that. That's the thrill. That's why we do what we do. When you're able to find that kind of musical partnership, that's really where it's at."
DePasquale has moved into the musical fast lane. A few weeks ago, she was with the Cleveland Orchestra when it opened the Edinburgh International Festival with a performance of Berlioz's mighty La Damnation de Faust. She also played in a chamber program of Beethoven and Mendelssohn during the festival. In June, she was a soloist in Beethoven's Triple Concerto with the Hong Kong Philharmonic.
"I feel like I've been playing a ton, and I feel like I've gotten better," she said. "I've been asked to play chamber music with some great people, I've been asked to teach at a high level, and I've been asked to do solo things here and there. Everything I've done has added to my development. The more that is asked of me, the more I get a chance to rise to the occasion."
The piano trios dePasquale, Connors and Merrigan will play next weekend are two of the largest, most extroverted works in the chamber music repertoire. The Tchaikovsky, if played without cuts, is close to 50 minutes long.
"For these big-boned kind of works, you can just put the pedal to the metal," Connors said. "Not that you can play crassly, but you can play more like a soloist in a trio than you can -- except at some of the most loud moments -- in a string quartet."
Ellen dePasquale
Ellen dePasquale, violin, and Chadd Merrigan, piano, perform at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg. DePasquale and Merrigan are joined by cellist James Connors for a concert at the museum Sept. 10, also at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 and $12. Call (727) 896-2667.
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