Arts & Entertainment
Stumm's Viola Playing Dazzles East Meadow
Viola player Jennifer Strumm and pianist Tanya Bannister play at East Meadow Library
The East Meadow Public Library offered its own treats on Halloween in the form of violist Jennifer Stumm and pianist Tanya Bannister. The duo performed classical music for a small audience on Sunday.
The afternoon began with Stumm and Bannister performing the German composer Robert Schumann's composition, Marchenbilder. The three part piece contained haunting melodies, fitting in perfectly with the Halloween season.
Although not considered Halloween music, Stumm explained to the audience that the piece was written towards the end of Schumann's life, when he was in the depths of mental illness. This perhaps explained the macabre feeling that the audience got by hearing the composition. Next, Stumm and Bannister went onto introduce the Franz Schubert piece Sonata in A Minor "Arpeggione" for Viola and Piano D.821.
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"This piece is a sort of an architectural relic," Stumm explained to the audience. "The instrument it was composed for no longer exists, but luckily this beautiful sonata has survived." The piece was originally composed for an arpeggione, which resembled a curved guitar invented the year before Schubert composed the piece in 1824.
"Schubert had a friend, who was an arpeggione player, and so he composed the piece for his friend to play. We are still lucky enough to have the piece now for viola and piano." Stumm said.
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Schubert's piece perfectly showcased the talents of both Bannister and Stumm. The sounds of both instruments came across both rich and strong, probably just as Schubert had intended the piece to sound when it was written.
The afternoon came to a close with the performance of Johann Brahms' Sonata in F Minor, Op. 120, No.1.Like the other pieces played that afternoon, the piece was no disappointment. On this piece, both Bannister and Stumm prove why they are world-renowned musicians, known for being masters of their instruments.
Even those who are not necessarily classical music fans could appreciate the talents of both as they truly managed to engage the audience right up until the end of the concert. While the ages of the audience members varied, the music seemed to transcend across age barriers to touch everyone. Only true artists such as Stumm and Bannister could do that effectively.
