by Ronald Legum

Bay Chamber Concerts is among the least heralded premier chamber music series in the U.S. Held at the acoustically fine Rockport Opera House in coastal Rockport, Maine, BCC features regular performances by the Vermeer and St. Lawrence Quartets and, for the last few years, has scheduled a “First Chair” set of concerts featuring principals from major symphony orchestras of North America. Young American pianists who have shown outstanding prowess in chamber music receive the Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award, so named for one of the founders of BCC. Among these recipients is Wu Han. I was fortunate to see Wu Han perform at The Rockport Opera House and was dazzled by the clarity, elegance and power of her pianism. This recording, on the performers’ own ArtistLed label, enhances my initial impressions of her artistry.

The last three piano sonatas (D.958, D.959, D.960) of Franz Schubert are an achievement comparable to the final three sonatas of Beethoven (Op.109, Op.110, Op.111). The Sonata in A (D.959) reveals Schubert’s ever-present simplicity and melodic beauty. Within each of the four movements melodies and counter melodies are developed utilizing shifting harmonies, rising chromatic lines and powerfully arpeggiated chords to achieve a grace and power unique to the late works of Schubert.

Wu Han performs the A major Sonata magnificently, a reading of great beauty, insight and cohesion. Her mastery of the Schubert idiom is striking . This performance far exceeds a mere technical tour de force, presenting the sonata rightfully as one of the landmarks of the piano literature.

David Finckel is the cellist of The Emerson String Quartet and the husband of Wu Han. Together they present an elegant, passionate Arpeggione. The arpeggione was a six stringed bowed guitar with a wider range than the modern cello. Mr. Finckel’s playing illuminates the lyricism of this great work and is complemented by the elegant accompaniment of Wu Han.

The recording was made in June, 2003, at the auditorium of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York City. Da-Hong Seetoo is its most successful recording engineer. The soundstage presented is within the first 5 rows center of a small auditorium with “medium” reverberation. The unusually comprehensive booklet notes are by Patrick Castillo, accompanied by nicely rendered drawings of Schubert and his surroundings. The production is by Wu Han/David Finckel. It is a great success on all counts.