Two gleaming grand pianos were gracing the stage at Cleland Community Theatre last Saturday night.
The hall filled up with music lovers who had come to hear the Bergmann Duo in this season’s third Community Concert. Elizabeth and Marcel Bergmann took their seats at the pianos and began to play Mozart’s Overture from Magic Flute.
Gentle opening chords made way for a bustling theme with an elegant ornament. It built up in a crescendo to a full orchestral sound.
The Bergmann’s played with ease. They smiled at each other across their pianos, unobstructed by sheet-music, which they did not use. It was their ninth concert in nine days and they were in perfect performing condition.
After a few words of introduction they changed pianos and performed a technically demanding and musically multifaceted Piano Duo by Brahms: the Haydn Variations Op. 56b. Op. 56a was Brahms’ orchestral version of the same piece.
A slow paced, festive choral theme was developed with increasing complexity of rhythms and tonalities. Driving fast passages alternated with contrasting, reflective variations and dialogue passages.
The rest of the program was dedicated to contemporary music with a jazz and Latin flavour.
Marcel is not only an amazing pianist; he is also a composer and arranger and he arranged most of the duo’s repertoire. His first arrangements were selections from Bernstein’s West Side Story which I was looking forward to hear.
The bold harmonics in Mambo, the romantic tenderness in Maria and the witty cross-rhythms in America came to life under the duo’s skilled hands.
The Blue Rondo a la Turk by American composer Dave Brubeck had quirky irregular motives that lead to an improvised blues tune in straight time. Oblivion and Michelangelo 70 by Argentinean composer Piazella combined elements of traditional Argentinean Tango with contemporary classical music and jazz. Jazz pianist Chick Corea’s Native Sense layered percussive jazz riffs over an underlying bass theme. Corea’s Spain started with a sweeping introduction that led into an interesting fragmented theme and a spirited improvised section by Marcel.
The finale was Brazilian composer Gismati’s Infancia, an exuberant colourful celebration with folkloric melodies, sparkling tremolos, plucked strings and cascading arpeggios.
The applause only stopped when Elizabeth and Marcel sat down together at the handcrafted Italian Fazioli piano and played an encore, Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Brahms.
What a lovely, talented couple the Bergmann’s were. It was a joy to hear them perform.
Roswitha Masson is a concert reviewer living in Penticton.
