The Joy Luck Trio, consisting of (left to right in the photo) Karen Han on ehru, Donna Weng Friedman on piano, and Gao Hong on pipa, had their first Brooklyn performance at Bargemusic on Sunday, May 3. As I've noted before, I'm a fan of syncretism in music (and in other things). Joy Luck, in my estimation, does an awesome job of combining Asian and Western instruments and musical traditions.
They opened the concert with The Swan (Le Cygne, 1886) by Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921), which they did as written except for some improvisations. According to my sketchy concert notes Han's ehru produced a "dreamy melody" while Hong's pipa yielded "versatile sounds." Friedman's piano was precise. This was followed by Hong's own composition, Flying Dragon, done solo on pipa. As its name implies, it had a soaring quality until the last note, which evoked the dragon's descent, and was made by Hong's dragging her thumbnail down a string, a move that produced a pleasing sound. Han then had a solo turn on ehru with Birds Singing in the Empty Mountains, by the Chinese composer Liu Tianhua (1835-1932). My notes indicate "conversational sounds" and "scope of timbre."
Next on the program came three pieces by the composer Stefania de Kenessey, who was present for the concert. These were from Microvids, a series of nineteen short pieces she composed after the worst of the pandemic had passed. The three performed at the concert were Reach for the Sky, Clouds, and Pure Joy. They were written for solo piano, but the concert performances included improvisations on ehru and pipa. It all worked brilliantly.
Hong then had another solo turn on pipa with a piece, Pastoral, that she said was inspired by the Mongolian countryside. Its evocation of a spacious landscape reminded me, in a good way, of Neil Young's instrumental, The Emperor of Wyoming. Friedman then had her solo turn on piano with The Three Maries (1939) by the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959). These three short pieces, Alnitah, Alnilam, and Mintika, were given the names of the belt stars in the constellation Orion that are sometimes called "The Three Marys." My notes on each in order were: "playful"; "loving"; and "reflective."
The last two pieces in the program were Hong's Nostalgia, which she described as "chasing a dream" and for which my notes are "plaintive, then lovely," and Horse Racing, by the Chinese composer Huang Haihuai (1935-1967) which evoked the propulsive rhythm of hoofbeats and concluded with a convincing whinny on the ehru.
I have friends who think that the purpose of music, or of any art, should be to provide pleasure. I believe that great art should not only please, but also challenge the listener, viewer, or reader to hear, see, or understand in a new way. For me, Joy Luck Trio fulfilled that purpose. It made me hear music in a way I never had before.
(Also published on Brooklyn Heights Blog)
