The Lysander Piano Trio Takes Their BHC Audience on a Journey About Journeying

Concerts

Aug 10

Review by Anna McClennen

From left, Lysander Piano Trio cellist Michael Katz, Trio pianist Liza Stepanova, Sounds in the Sanctuary Associate Director Ed Clark, Rabbi Donna Kirshbaum, Trio violinist Itamar Zorman.
*photo by Martin Kessel*

On Friday, August 9, the Lysander Piano Trio performed in our shul as the third of four concerts in this year’s Sounds in the Sanctuary chamber music series.

The Lysander Trio was formed by its members—violinist Itamar Zorman, pianist Liza Stepanova, and cellist Michael Katz—when they were students at Julliard. The group has developed a reputation for exciting programming, finding creative ways to connect well-known masterworks with pieces by lesser-known and underrepresented composers, discovering common threads across cultures and times.

The trio brought this philosophy to their BHC performance, playing a piece by the contemporary Israeli composer Udi Perlman, followed by a favorite piano trio by Schubert. Both pieces are reflections on the theme of journeying.

Perlman’s Nostos was commissioned by the Lysander Trio and received its New Hampshire premier at Friday’s concert. It begins and ends with a theme from an Israeli folk song, and is inspired by the ancient Greek concept of nostos, the longing for home after a long journey.

Schubert’s Piano Trio in E flat tries to find a home through innumerable modulations, transformations, and a Swedish song about the sun setting as a symbol for lost love.

Zorman, Stepanova, and Katz are supremely skilled musicians, whose love for the music they play–and their enjoyment of performing together–shone through every note.

Rabbi Kirshbaum, who was a professional cellist many years ago and continues to be an avid chamber music player, commented on the Lysander Trio’s performance: “You can always judge the emotional impact of a group’s playing if there’s silence in the audience after the very last note is sounded. The Lysander Trio caused us to hold our collective breath, and for a very long time, at the end of the Schubert trio. It seems we all experienced a sacred brush with truth and beauty. Together.”

Their performance was followed by a reception provided by Gail Robinson.