Piano trio evokes rich sentiment in latest concert

Music has the power to capture emotion without words. The resident Geneseo Piano Trio took an experimental trip on Sunday Dec. 3, using their music that led the audience through compelling emotions. 

Visiting assistant professor of violin Andrew Bergevin on the violin, lecturer of music James Kirkwood on the cello and professor of music Jonathan Gonder on the piano all played two pieces, and in that time, the audience in Doty Hall traveled through many different worlds, simply thanks to the music. 

Distinguished service professor of music James Walker, who composed the first piece “Moments Passed,” described the piece as “a short, somewhat rambling, repetitive, episodic, very difficult, dissonant, developmental bit of composition, using several fragments borrowed from previous compositions.” 

Walker’s description is extremely accurate. Hearing the music echo through the hall felt slow and fast ocassionally, deep, disturbing and disjointed. At times, the tone of the music was almost frightening. 

The experimental side kept the audience interested, despite the length of the piece, which continued for over half an hour, meandering or racing toward a peak that seemed to delay itself inevitably. 

The second selection was a collection called “Piano Trio in E-flat major, Op. 100,” by Franz Schubert. This piece contained four movements varying in tone, each having a different way of communicating a more peaceful theme than “Moments Past.” The first, “Allegro,” felt triumphant. It had a bold, sturdy sound, and resonated deeply. 

The second, “Andante con Moto,” was a slow, almost mournful march. There was rising action and a softer pizzicato. 

The lighter sound picked up again with the third movement, “Scherzo: Allegro moderato,” which was almost like spring after winter. The piece felt animated and lively, but with a more distinct energy behind it than the previous movements. A playful tone was created from how the strings and the piano mimicked one another. 

Then, to round it all out, “Allegro moderato” created a rich finish that focused on the piano and on a summation of the previous pieces.

The performance was one of many from the music department during the fall of 2017.

Creative writing and music major senior Amanda Saladino attended the concert and found the performances educational. 

“It definitely improves my music education, especially when we’re listening to new performances, like professor Walker’s piece,” she said. 

The emotional power of the music was felt by everyone, allowing a brief reprieve from music that uses lyrics, and instead allowing a piano, a cello and a violin to evoke feelings within you from the music alone.u

The Geneseo Piano Trio performed on Sunday Dec. 3 in Doty Recital Hall in a emotive concert. The trio, pictured above, consisted of assistant professor of violin Andrew Bergevin on the violin, lecturer of music James Kirkwood on the cello and professor of music Jonathan Gonder on the piano. (Catherine White/Arts & Entertainment Editor