For the four upcoming programs she’s coordinating
for Bargemusic, Anne-Marie McDermott knows exactly why she chose
the music.
"We all need something – some kind of emotional release
at a time like this, and music is great for that," the pianist
says on the phone from North Carolina, where she’s rehearsing
for a performance. "I hope more people will turn to music
right now."
The first two McDermott-programmed concerts are this week: Mozart,
Shostakovich and Brahms on Oct. 25 and 26 are followed by Mozart,
Brahms and Schumann on Oct. 27 and 28. McDermott and her chamber
music colleagues – violinist Paul Phillips, violist Paul Neubauer
and cellist Ronald Thomas – will be playing music that, McDermott
hopes, is as cathartic for the audience as it is for her.
"These are all pieces that are very dear to my heart, that
really express a lot emotionally, and that are real staples in
the repertoire," she explains. For Thursday’s and Friday’s
concerts, Mozart and Brahms are on anyone’s list of repertoire
staples, but the presence of Shostakovich’s masterly but weighty
Cello Sonata may seem at odds with the current emotional climate.
McDermott doesn’t think so.
"I’m a huge fan of Shostakovich," she says. "I
find he has a very great weight and somberness, yes, but also
a great irony and a really vivid expression of someone who has
lived through such dark and turbulent times. It is stark writing,
but it expresses itself on such a deep level, a level we can
connect with.
"And to have Shostakovich surrounded by Mozart’s Piano Trio
(in B-flat Major) – which is so uplifting, since it’s filled
with spirit and life – and Brahms’ Piano Quartet (in C-Minor),
I think is an effective juxtaposition."
Mozart and Brahms reappear on Saturday’s and Sunday’s program
– the former with his Piano Trio in E-flat Major, the latter
with his Violin Sonata No. 2 in A-Major – along with Schumann’s
expansive Piano Quartet.
"There’s such joy, spirit and vitality to Mozart,"
McDermott enthuses, "and that Trio is pure and uncomplicated,
which actually makes it difficult to play! The Brahms sonata
is, in my opinion, one of the most loving pieces ever written.
It’s not filled with turmoil like his third sonata, or pastoral
like his first sonata. Instead, it’s very amicable, friendly
and in a warm key [A-major]. And the Schumann is an absolute
masterpiece which covers a whole gamut emotionally, from angst
at the start to joy in the last movement."
Originally on the second program was the fiendishly difficult
third piano sonata of Sergei Prokofiev, but that wasn’t why it
ended up being bumped.
"It was a little bit of wishful thinking," McDermott
admits, "since what happened on Sept. 11 set me back a little
bit preparation-wise. I found myself wanting to watch television
rather than practicing on the piano."
But Prokofiev and McDermott will soon pair up again at Bargemusic,
according to the pianist: "I am planning on doing the complete
cycle of Prokofiev sonatas there in 2003, maybe not all nine
together but interspersed throughout the season."
Two more McDermott-programmed Bargemusic concerts are scheduled
for November: the first is all-Claude Debussy (Nov. 8 and 9)
and the second is all-Maurice Ravel (Nov. 10 and 11). McDermott
is understandably excited about being able to present such gorgeous,
if occasionally undervalued, music to the Bargemusic audience.
"This is part of the reason it’s so difficult and wonderful
to be a pianist: when I die there will so much repertoire I just
never got to play!" she laughs. The pianist also realizes
that such music is as essential to hear as the works of Mozart
and Brahms.
"I think it’s fun for an audience to immerse themselves
entirely in an all-French program," she explains. "You
end up understanding the genre better, both its uniqueness and
its greatness. Playing it does too: as a pianist it took me a
long time to learn to play French repertoire, since you have
to create a palette, the colors of the music."
Due to prior commitments with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln
Center – with whom she’ll be touring in November – McDermott
won’t be able to perform at the Debussy and Ravel recitals. "So
many concerts, so little time!" she jokes. (At press time,
the performers had not yet been announced.)
Like everyone who plays and attends a performance there, McDermott
has nothing but praise for Bargemusic.
"Bargemusic has always had a very magical feeling to it
[docked at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge looking out at the
Manhattan skyline], and this is sure to make it stronger,"
she says. "It is like no other place in the world to make
music, so it always seems appropriate to help participate in
its varied programming."
Such programming has become even more of a necessity to its audience.
The program of works by Mozart, Shostakovich
and Brahms will be performed on Oct. 25 and 26. The Mozart, Brahms
and Schumann program will be performed on Oct. 27 and 28. Thursday,
Friday and Saturday concerts begin at 7:30 pm; Sundays begin
at 4 pm.
Bargemusic is located at Fulton Ferry Landing in Brooklyn Heights,
just south of the Brooklyn Bridge. For tickets, call (718) 624-2083.
Tickets are $30, $25 seniors 65 and older and $15 students. For
information about each day’s program, go to the Web site at www.bargemusic.org.
