As part of the University Artist Series, the University of Rhode Island honored composers who died at a young age with their concert “Careers Cut Short: Rare Gems for Violin and Piano”
The concert featured URI teacher of violin and viola Alexey Shabalin and professor of music Manabu Takasawa on piano. The program included works of composers Guillaume Lekue, Carl Filtsch, Margarite Canal and Maurice Ravel. Their ages and composition histories were included in the program.
The first piece performed was Lekue’s “Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Major.” Lekue died in 1894 at the age of 24.
As Shabalin and Takasawa performed the piece, their instruments blended and they moved with passion. The piece switched between being slow and melodic to fast-paced and tense, with sounds similar to the instrumentals found in a Studio Ghibli movie.
The piece fluctuated between being tense, and light and airy in sound. In parts, the sounds crash over the audience like a wave that builds up until it breaks.
Takasawa then performed a piano solo of “Mazurka in Eb Minor, Op. 3 No. 3” by Carl Filtsch. Filtsch lived till the age of 15 and in that time managed to write over 30 compositions before his death. Filtsch was mentored by famous composer Frederic Chopin.
“It’s really unusual that we still have music for essentially a child,” Takasawa said.
The third composition performed was “Lied for Violin and Piano” by Margarite Canal. Despite living a long life, Canal’s career was cut short after her divorce from a powerful music publisher, according to Takasawa. She spent the rest of her career teaching at the Paris Conservatory in France.
The piece was more consistently solemn and dramatic in sound than the previous compositions. Takasawa skillfully played the beginning of the composition with one hand, resting the other hand on his lap, showing his mastery of the piece.
Shabalin’s violin cried out over the piano. At the end of the piece, both had smiles on their faces as they took a bow.
To conclude the program, they performed “Sonata No. 2 in G Major for Violin and Piano M. 77” by Maurice Ravel.
The piece was much more mysterious and ominous than the others. As Shabalin performed, he managed to make a plethora of sounds that were reminiscent of a swarm of bees with just slight movements.
The piano and violin also mimicked the sound of a clock ticking incessantly. Both performers played with ferocity and passion, proving that they were truly masters of their instruments.
“We find that there are some great moments in each composition,” Shabalin said. “Something that brings a new thing to the world, something that we can share with the audience.”
Students studying music at URI were invited to attend the event to reap the benefits of seeing their professors perform.
“It’s also a great way to learn something,” Shabalin said. “When students come to the performance of their teachers, they can learn how to play, how to interpret music.”
Students are also able to learn how to keep the integrity of the business intact, according to Shabalin. They can better understand how much preparation and practice goes into mastering an instrument.
Above all, Shabalin and Takasawa feel humble playing pieces they know were published with careful creation and took a lot of time, even these lesser-known ones, according to Takasawa.
“When you discover some pieces that are not as well known, it’s still the same thing,” Takasawa said. “It’s almost like you’re going to a mine and you find a diamond buried somewhere, it’s that kind of an experience.”
Shabalin and Takasawa have been playing their instruments from a young age. Shablin began playing violin around the age of five in Russia. Takasawa started playing in first or second grade.
“It’s something that I really loved so I never had to be told to practice,” Takasawa said.
The University of Rhode Island’s Artist Series puts on several performances each semester at the Fine Arts Center. Tickets for upcoming performances can be purchased on their website.