By Daniel Buckwalter
It was simple, down-to-earth elegance — straight from the heart.
Sharon Schuman
Chamber Music Amici, in what was supposed to be a rousing retirement sendoff for violinist Sharon Schuman, instead mourned the death of one of Amici’s founders, its first artistic director and the soul of the group that completed its 16th season on June 8 and 9 with the program Suk and Dvořák before appreciative audiences at Springfield’s Wildish Theater.
They did it with love of the music and dedication to performance, and I can’t help but wonder if the ever-expressive Schuman would have smiled at the result, because it could not have been easy. Schuman was killed on April 23 while running on the Amazon Trail in Eugene, by a motorist who apparently lost control of his vehicle. She was 79 years old, and there seemed to be more life ahead for her.
The music itself — Josef Suk’s Piano Quartet in A Minor and, after a brief intermission, Antonín Dvořák’s Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major — was superbly played from start to finish. Both pieces feature tender moments and both have spirited endings. Chamber Music Amici was flawless.
I was struck particularly by those tender moments in each piece. The second movement of Suk’s piece, for instance, has a lovely segment for cello that Steven Pologe carried magnificently. For Dvořák’s piece, there were soft, almost sensual exchanges with Pologe on cello, violist Lillie Mannis and violinists Sunmi Chang and Jessica Lambert. Pianist Brian Keng-Lun Hsu anchored both pieces with grace.
It was fair to wonder how this would turn out. Schuman was a dynamo in the Eugene-Springfield classical music community. Deeply respected, she also did work outside of music, including as treasurer of SquareOne Village and through fundraising for the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund.
She was known.
Chamber Music Amici chose a light touch in its first public appearance since the day Schuman was killed. Before and after the program, a slide show presentation featuring Schuman ran on a continuous loop. An empty chair with a small table and a bouquet of flowers were nearby and always under the spotlight.
After the performance, three speakers gave brief glimpses of their love and respect for Schuman. First was Eunhye Grace Choi, pianist and current artistic director for Chamber Music Amici, who, fighting back tears, called Schuman “a very genuine person.”
Next was David Sonnichsen, a longtime usher for Amici who recalled Schuman being involved in testing the acoustics at Wildish Theater shortly before it opened in 2006.
Finally, there was Pologe, the cellist and last remaining founding member of Amici, who is still playing for the ensemble. He called Schuman “a most dynamic woman,” adding that she fiercely championed Chamber Music Amici throughout the past 16 years. “It was all hers from the start.”
Choi and Hsu then teamed up on the piano to play Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sheep May Safely Graze from the Hunt Cantata.
It hurts. Pologe noted on Sunday that he could not look at the slide show, but the twin concerts on June 8 and 9 were a compassionate love note to a shining star who will be greatly missed.
It was well done.
