Chamber Recital: Amber Emson and Leah Nicholson
Edinburgh Society of Musicians - 06/02/24
Amber Emson, violin | Leah Nicholson, piano
The charm of nineteenth and early twentieth century French music was one important strand of a recital held in the charmingly intimate surroundings of the Edinburgh Society of Musicians. But the standout work this evening was Sergei Prokofiev’s dark and sinewy Sonata No. 1 for violin and piano, accounted for with a real depth of feeling by two young musicians with stellar careers ahead of them.
Lili Boulanger Deux Morceaux pour violin et piano (a nocturne and a cortège) opened proceedings, with the pleading tones of the first section giving way to a rising and falling motif. There is something bright and unexpectedly frisky about the cortège. Its tricky runs, shifting rhythms and contrasting dynamics provide an ideal opportunity for dancing piano and leaping violin to intertwine. Emson and Nicholson did not disappoint.
The main work in the first half was César Franck’s glorious Sonata in A Major, which combines harmonic richness and warmth with a certain formality inherited from the Classical tradition. Amber Emson captured the voice-like allegretto ben moderato wonderfully. The succeeding allegro opens with a tumult of Romantic piano, joined by violin. This is where the sonata’s drama really comes through, unfolding a rigorous dance motif. The contrast is felt in the tenderness and sparsity of the recitativo, followed by the undulating, happy contours of the allegretto poco mosso and its passionate conclusion.
The mood changed significantly after the interval. Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 1, emerging defiantly from the darkness of Stalinism, creates a brooding, at times almost menacing, atmosphere. It is full of lament and longing. Indeed the first and third movements were played at the composer’s funeral. The ingeniously twisted lyricism of the violin is accompanied by violent bursts of intensity from the piano. Nicholson’s skittering, fast bowing and edgy pizzicato never faltered. Here is the opposite of mere musical confection.
Aggression gives way to something approaching Romanticism in the allegro. Then a rhythmic assertiveness returns. There is a ghost-like interlude and a reprise and adaptation of the opening theme. The duo captured its alternations and intensities powerfully. The andante begins on piano, repeated by violin. It is by turns light and almost airy, then sad and sonorous. Prokofiev’s deep sense of mournful hope is particularly felt here. The final allegrisimo begins with a fast, defiant tune, followed by more pizzicato and the interweaving of angular violin and piano lines. Nicholson and Emson handled this complex interplay and changes of dynamics and pace with aplomb. Despite the storm clouds there is a sense of indefatigability in Prokofiev’s landmark sonata, of light piercing the world’s darkness.
One of Ravel’s perhaps least Ravel-like pieces wrapped up the programme, which this fine duo have now shared in a number of chamber recital settings. Rooted in its long and winding violin opening, the quixotic Tzigane has a gypsy-like feel to it, placing joyously virtuosic demands on both players. As an encore, Amber Emson and Leah Nicholson offered us the first of Clara Schumann’s Three Romances for violin and piano, op. 22, ending the evening with energetic leaps and arpeggios, tinged with pathos.
These two prodigiously talented young musicians are both multi-award winners and scholarship recipients at the Royal Academy of Music. They first met during their studies at Chetham’s School for Music in Manchester, and have been playing together, as well as solo, ever since. Do catch them in concert if you can.
