There are few experiences more satisfying than hearing musicians close-up in intimate venues, and last night pianist Lisa Moore and violinist Karen Bentley Pollick provided a fine example. The site was Klavierhaus, a showroom near Carnegie Hall with a small space in the back for just 50 people, plus two enormous Fazioli instruments in front and three more on the right side. ("It's just like being in someone's living room," I quipped, to which a friend said, "Yeah, a living room with a bunch of pianos in it.")
The first half of the unusual menu began with Janáček's earthy Sonata for Violin and Piano (1914) and Paul Dresher's Elapsed Time (1998), culminating with a world premiere: Aves Nostradamus (2008) an intriguing short work by Sam Adams, the son of John Adams. A restless account of the latter's Road Movies (1995) began after intermission, followed by Bird as Prophet (1999), Martin Bresnick's luminous tribute to Schumann and Charlie Parker. I realize economics don't often allow artists to shed light for such small crowds, but it's a treat when it happens.
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