Many of us are likely familiar with the phrase ‘Irish goodbye’ – but are you as familiar with Hungarian welcomes? If the answer is no, it is possibly because they aren’t really a thing. However, one might call pianist Seong-Jin Cho’s latest concert at the Berlin Philharmonie a veritable Hungarian welcome. Having recently been appointed Artist-in-Residence for the 2024-25 season, Cho was greeted with a chamber music programme featuring Brahms, Ligeti and Bartók. Joining Cho for this step of his ambitious residency – which includes concertos by Beethoven and Shostakovich, together with Ravel’s complete piano works – were solo members of the Philharmoniker.
For a self-proclaimed Hungarian programme, one may wonder how Brahms’ Clarinet Trio in A minor fits in the picture. Historically, certain composers’ fascination for Central and Eastern European folk music conflated into a repertoire of clichés which evoked generic ‘exotic’ sonorities. Brahms was no exception, and some of these melodic formulas can be found in his closing Allegro. If the piece is not technically Hungarian, then, it could be said to be all’ungherese.
More notably, the trio is particularly challenging for both clarinet and cello. Respectively, Wenzel Fuchs and Solène Kermarrec engaged in a tight conversation where thematic ideas were constantly exchanged and re-elaborated. Both instruments sang with ease: Fuchs’ clarinet maintained its creamy quality fluttering between registers, while Kermarrec alternated the husky timbre of low frequencies to the bright sound of the A-string. Cho accompanied the dialogue incisively, at the cost of overpowering some dynamic balances with a tendency to play forte. This didn’t take away from moments of timbral beauty, where the three instruments blended together in a rich texture.
Entering actual Hungarian territory, Ligeti’s Trio for violin, horn and piano is linked to the previous piece by its subtitle, which reads “Hommage à Brahms”. The homage in question derives from the unusual nature of the ensemble, mirroring the German composer’s own Horn Trio. Exploration of the acoustic possibilities of such a grouping of instruments seems to be Ligeti’s focus. On what one could call an ‘anti-tonal’ premise, each part is free to experiment. Marlene Ito’s violin was perhaps the best example: harmonics, pizzicatos, tremolos, multiple stopping and stretched out durations originated a wide, technically challenging sonic spectrum. Similar virtuosity was asked of Stefan Dohr, with fast passagework and prolonged pianissimi giving his horn the chance to showcase a shiny, full timbre. So much of the score’s harmonic appeal resided in Cho’s piano, which proceeded with the customary energy alternating vertical constructions to ostinatos and thematic bits shared by the ensemble. Together with Ito and Dohr, Cho created a space rich with resonance.
Written in a transitional period of Bartók’s career, his Piano Quintet bears the marks of a musical upbringing dominated by Germanic Romanticism and Post-romanticism, mixed with a growing interest in Hungarian folk music that would soon become fundamental to the composer’s output. Cho and the Philharmoniker soloists seemed to favour this vanguard perspective, emphasising their affinity with later Bartók compositions. Cho’s extrovert playing proved beneficial to the score, which – even in the slower movements – includes several animated sections. In the second movement, a dance-like, dotted-rhythm tune is introduced by the violin just to be picked up by the others, recalling the verbunkos and its improvisational style. With Ito and Kermarrec confirming their dexterity, Simon Roturier’s violin and Sebastian Krunnies’ viola contributed with neat phrasing across registers. Heavier, loaded moments like the monophonic opening of the Adagio completed the musical palette, foreshadowing the suspended eeriness of Bartók’s mature works.
