Trio Zimbalist plays award-winning selections at Lewes show
Trio Zimbalist, whose debut album was selected for an Editor’s Choice Award in Gramophone’s March 2024 issue, performed in Lewes March 2 as part of Coastal Concerts’ 25th anniversary season. Braving the heavy rain that fell all morning, audience members were treated to three selections from the recording “Piano Trios of Weinberg, Auerbach and Dvořák.” Many concertgoers found the pieces complex and challenging, and also a great opportunity to be exposed to new music.
In the initial two selections for the program, the three musicians who trained together at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia paid homage to the struggles of leaving one’s homeland. The first work, “Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 28,” by Lera Aurebach, was composed when she was in her late teens, shortly after she defected to the United States in 1991 from what was then the Soviet Union. The work reflects what she knew and felt, alone and in the midst of what she describes as the most difficult period of her life. Hearing the masterful performance by Trio Zimbalist, listeners could feel the sorrow and uncertainty of Aurebach’s world at that time.
The second piece, “Piano Trio, Op. 24,” by Polish composer Mieczslaw Weinberg, was written in 1945, shortly after Weinberg had fled from Poland to Russia to escape the Nazis. Although he was hopeful that he would reunite with his relatives again, Weinberg would later learn that his entire family was lost to the concentration camps. The horrific impact of the war upon him is evident in the music he wrote. In describing what the audience was about to hear, pianist George Xiaoyuan Fu asked that everyone listen carefully to recognize the contrasts in the piece and appreciate the range of feelings Weinberg is able to combine and beautifully transfer to listeners through his music.
The third and final selection was “Piano Trio No. 4 (‘Dumky’)” by Antonin Dvorak, written in 1891. As with the first two, this piece conveyed contrasting emotions experienced in the lives of central Europeans. Trio Zimbalist performed this work, one of Dvorak’s most well known, with precision and enthusiasm, to which the audience responded with resounding applause and cheers.
Paul Pennock and his wife Fredda have been regular Lewes visitors since the 1970s, and for years they have split their time between their homes in Kennett Square, Pa., and Lewes Beach. “We’ve been season subscribers to Coastal Concerts for a while now, and even though it’s winter, it’s a great motivation for us to travel down for the weekend, catch up with friends and enjoy what we really love about Lewes, especially when things are a little slower than during the summer season,” Paul said. “We really love the artists Coastal Concerts brings to the stage, and today’s concert was just terrific, so emotional and moving, and honestly not exactly what I expected, which is why these concerts are so worthwhile.”
Another concertgoer, 21-year-old Drew Dennis, was attending for the first time. He said, “This was my first real exposure to classical music, and I really enjoyed it. I wasn’t sure what to expect; in fact, I wasn’t even sure I would like it, but I was surprised by the energy and expertise of the artists. I can’t wait for the next concert.”
For its final event of the season, Coastal Concerts will bring back an audience favorite, the Canellakis-Brown Duo, on cello and piano, at 2 p.m., Saturday, April 6, at at Bethel United Methodist Church, Lewes. Both are longtime artists with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center who have played all over the world. This is Coastal Concert’s traditional Wild Card Concert, sponsored by Dogfish Head.
For more information and to purchase tickets, go to coastalconcerts.org.
