(This article about a truly meaningful evening at Chamber Music Society in May of 2025 somehow didn’t make the transition from Oberon’s Grove to the Glade, so I have done a copy-and-paste.)
Above: Charles Wadsworth
~ Author: Oberon
Friday May 2nd, 2025 – This evening, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center honored its Founding Artistic Director, Charles Wadsworth, with a program book-ended by a trio sonata by the Baroque composer Johann Gottlieb Goldberg and a septet by Camille Saint-Saëns and centering on a unique set of Schumann vocal works sung by a quartet that included the one-and-only Frederica von Stade, with de luxe pianists Wu Han and Ken Noda.
Wu Han explained that the opening Goldberg work had been the first piece played at the very first Chamber Music Society performance in this hallowed Hall back in 1969. At that time, this trio sonata was thought to have been composed by Bach himself; later it was determined that one of the maestro’s students, Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, had penned it. (Click on the concert images to enlarge.)
Above, at the end of the Goldberg: Chad Hoopes, Wu Han, Sterling Elliott, and Francisco Fullana; photo by Cherylynn Tsushima
Wu Han was at the harpsichord this evening, joined by violinists Chad Hoopes and Francisco Fullana and cellist Sterling Elliott. From its serene opening Adagio, the music is cordial and was elegantly played, the musicians achieving an immaculate sonic blend. There follows an animated Alla breve, a melodious flow in which Wu Han’s expert keyboard playing could be savoured. The lamenting song of the violins, exchanging phrases or duetting, marked the Largo; with the Elliott cello providing deeper colours, the refined playing culminates with some delicious trills. The final Gigue is a joyous dance, full of delicious subtleties.
The stage was now re-set for Robert Schumann’s Spanische Liebeslieder, a set of songs that tell of the various aspects of love. The cycle opens with a piano duo, Wu Han joined by the always-welcome Ken Noda. Their playing was enticing and finely wrought; a tiny mistake was charmingly resolved.
Originally planned to feature the beloved voices of Kathleen Battle, Frederica von Stade, and Thomas Hampson, over time the quartet morphed into soprano Amanda Batista, tenor Ben Bliss, and baritone Joshua Hopkins – all currently (or recently) involved in productions at The Met – joining the inimitable Ms.von Stade. Flicka looked gorgeous in a long red coat, with Ms. Batista in a shimmering gown that seemed spun out of mithril.
Ms. Batista, who had just sung at the Gerda Lissner Foundation concert at Zankel Hall, has a larger and more extroverted voice that the anticipated Ms. Battle, but she was able, for the most part, to hone her singing down to blend with her lyrical colleagues. Ben Bliss, fresh from a triumphant series of Taminos at The Met, gave us a jolly song, blithely sung. Ms. von Stade joined Ms. Batista in a duet to a lulling rhythm, harmonizing to fine effect; their singing had an operatic edge, the signature von Stade sound still on display.
Above: pianists Wu Han and Ken Noda with baritone Joshua Hopkins; photo by Cherylynn Tsushima
Following a light intro from Mr. Noda, Mr. Hopkins (a memorable Met Papageno and Ping, and now starring there as Mozart’s Count Almaviva) ) sang nobly, his voice warm and rich.
A dance-like interlude from the piano duo led to a heartfelt song from Ms. Batista, and then on to Ben Bliss’s characterful singing of a song about the woes of having an angry girlfriend. Ms. von Stade, joining Ms. Batista, now charmed the crowd with her gentle, lovely singing whilst memories of her peerless Cherubino, her haunting Mélisande, and her captivating Octavian were evoked for me: some of my most beautiful operatic memories. Mssrs. Bliss and Hopkins joined forces for a jovial duet, which romped along to a big finish. The cycle’s concluding quartet, supported by rippling motifs from the pianists, was somewhat unbalanced vocally, but pleasing nonetheless.
After the interval, three more Schumann works were sung, with Mr. Noda ever the perfect pianist. “Liebhabers Ständchen” united Ms. Batista and Mr. Bliss for some passionate singing, and then Mr. Hopkins joined Ms. von Stade for “Ich bin dein Baum”. They sounded simply delightful together, the baritone gazing at Flicka in admiration as the von Stade voice summoned so many memories for those of us who cherish that unique sound. In this duet about love and nature, all seemed well with the world; Mr. Hopkins gallantly kissed Flicka’s hand at the end. The concluding Schumann piece, “Tanzlied”, set to an accented tempo, brought the four vocalists together for a final celebration.
One of the things I loved most during the Schumann songs was observing Flicka while her colleagues were singing; she leaned forward, watching them intently and smiling whenever they did something wonderful (which was often…). During the upbeat moments, she tapped her foot, and when things turned more pensive, a dreamy look came over her face, as if the music was summoning beautiful recollections for her.
Photos by Cherylynn Tsushima of the evening’s singers – Amanda Batista, Frederica von Stade, Ben Bliss, and Joshua Hopkins – with Wu Han and Ken Noda taking turns at the Steinway:
To conclude the evening, a rarity: Camille Saint-Saëns’ Septet in E-flat major for Trumpet, Two Violins, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, and Piano, Op. 65 which is in four movements – Préambule, Menuet, Intermède, and Gavotte et Final. David Washburn’s trumpet rang forth in this rather unusual instrumental combination, wherein violinists Fallana and Hoopes were joined by violist Paul Neubauer, Mr. Elliott with his cello, Wu Han at the Steinway, and the velvety bass playing of Nina Bernat. If the music did not prove memorable, the playing of it was superb.
Above, playing the Saint-Saëns septet: Mssrs. Fullana, Hoopes, and Neubauer, Wu Han at the piano, Sterling Elliott, Nina Bernat, and Davd Washburn; photo by Cherylynn Tsushima.
From the moment this program was announced, I’d hoped to meet Flicka again, and to get her autograph for my English friend Mollie, who has always attributed her life-long love of opera to having heard the von Stade voice back in the early 1970s and falling under its spell. We found the beloved singer being chatted up by fans, and she was as gracious as ever. And now I have something special to send to my friend across the sea.
~ Oberon
(Performance photos by Cherylynn Tsushima, courtesy of Chamber Music Society, and with my thanks to Beverly Greenfield of Kirshbaum Associates.)
Oberon's Glade 