WinterMezzo concert in SLO features power trio

A classical “power trio”— master cellist Bion Tsang, acclaimed pianist/composer John Novacek and violin virtuoso and Festival Mozaic music director Scott Yoo — will perform an all-protein program at the festival’s WinterMezzo concert on Feb. 28.

The three men will play “Piano Trio in C major” and “Piano Trio by B major” by Johannes Brahms, and Tsang will play Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Suite No. 1 in G major.”

Tsang, speaking by phone from his home in Austin, Texas, could barely contain his excitement about the Bach solo suite.

“No one before or since has ever written like this for solo cello,” Tsang said. “The fugue — how in the world do you create a fugue on an instrument that plays only one note at a time? Yet, he does it! He creates the illusion of a chord instrument and builds it up like an organ.”

At the same time, he said, the piece demonstrates Bach’s “tremendous economy.” There are no wasted notes, Tsang explained.

The Feb. 28 concert at Congregation Beth David in San Luis Obispo will conclude a powerhouse weekend for classical music lovers.

On Feb. 26, the trio will deliver an hour-long Notable Encounter Insight lecture and demonstration at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art.

Tsang will conduct a cello master class the following morning. That night, he, Novacek and Yoo will speak and play at a private dinner in Arroyo Grande.

“The Notable Encounter (event) is always really enjoyable,” said Novacek, who lives in Baltimore. “We sit among the paintings and play excerpts from the program — parts from the Brahms and the Bach (works). Scott Yoo explains how the pieces fit together and provides entry points for the audience. It builds up the audience’s appreciation.”

“By the time we give the full concert on Sunday,” he added, “we feel we’ve communed with the audience.”

In preparation, Novacek said he’s been immersing himself in the Brahms trios.

“Brahms’ music is timeless, built to last,” the pianist said. “He was so self-critical — you know that he wrote and threw out 20 string quartets before he made one he liked – that every piece is a masterwork. …

“The wisdom in his music is such that I discover more in it every time I play it.”

Novacek described Brahm’s “Piano Trio in C major” as a startling example of classic sensibility.” “And yet,” he added, this music is also profoundly romantic, so emotionally expressive that I tear up as I practice it. Their tenderness goes right to the core.”

“The trios we’ll play at the festival are epic in scope. They sweep you along with tense harmonic motion,” Novacek continued. “As I’m getting older, I find that my tempo has increased — I want to move the breath of the music ahead without losing its strength. I’m playing with more motion now.”

Tsang agreed.

“The adrenaline of a live situation really affects performances” the cellist said. “I think I tend to play at faster tempi live because I’m concentrating ‘in the zone,’ as athletes like to say.

“I want to tell the music’s story without stopping.”

This story was originally published February 19, 2016 at 10:18 AM with the headline "WinterMezzo concert in SLO features power trio."