Chamber Music Tulsa: Trio Bohémo
LowDown
November 15, 2024
My usual date for chamber concerts, Mr. Tulsa, was unavailable last Friday night, so I invited my friend Twila to hear Trio Bohémo with me. Twila is not a classical music snob like me, not even a classical newbie like Mr. Tulsa, but Twila is game for anything. Twila is that friend with a hot tub and a killer margarita recipe. Twila is that friend who says, “I made soup, come over.” Twila plays her guitar and sings at a Tuesday night jazz jam, usually something folksy that people sing along with. I didn’t know how she felt about chamber music, but I knew she loves LowDown.
LowDown is a new kind of venue for this genre of music, which has historically been performed in echoey churches or cramped auditoriums for sophisticated and blasé audience members who clapped politely after concerts full of heavy hitters like Brahms and Beethoven. Musicians played passionately and wordlessly for two hours, then disappeared. Not surprisingly, the audience for chamber music has been aging out. I feared it was a dying art.
These days, things are changing for the better. Chamber Music Tulsa’s concerts include drinks and food at cool venues like LowDown, where the performers actually interact with the audience. It’s a breath of fresh air to the genre—and to people like my friend, who might not have even known this was something she’d enjoy.
Twila and I sashayed down the LowDown stairs like we were going to a Paris jazz club in the Roaring Twenties, then sipped our drinks and discussed current affairs while the room filled up. Of course, this being Tulsa, she saw people she knew.
The young Czech artists of Trio Bohémo, here on their first U.S. tour, swept onstage at 7:30pm and took charge. Shostakovich’s Trio No 1 in C Minor, Op. 8, was a traditional opening piece: short, by turns energetic and introspective, lovely. Following the first number, the violinist took the mic and welcomed us, giving us a little background on the trio and cracking a couple of jokes, which went over well because the musicians were adorable and had proven themselves highly skilled, and because our cocktails had kicked in. We trusted them to guide us through the evening.
The next pieces, a set by Fritz Kreisler, were based on folk styles. When I heard the strains of “Danny Boy,” something in my heart lifted. I’m not Irish, never been to Ireland, but that poignant melody did what it always does best: in a dark time, it reminded me that there is good in the world, and that the good is accessible to me.
The Haydn Trio in E Major, Hob XV:28, in three brief movements, was pure joy. LowDown did what it does best during the slow movement, when the bartender went full James Bond and shook a martini at full volume, unashamed and uninhibited. This being LowDown, it didn’t ruin the moment or even detract from it; it showed us we had two beautiful things going on at the same time. There were quite a few shouts of bravo as well as hearty applause for the Haydn.
Then we got to Paul Schoenfield’s Cafe Music. I wasn’t familiar with the work of Schoenfield, who died at 77 earlier this year, but now I’m a fan. He combines classical, folk and popular forms to create (how shall I say it?) fun classical music. It’s like if Gershwin happened later. Or if cabaret went classical.
I looked around the audience as the trio played the Schoenfield pieces. There was toe-tapping and head-nodding. People were smiling. Couples nudged their shoulders together, exchanging secret pleased looks. Twila was rapt, her eyes bright as she watched them play. She loves to see people enjoying themselves; this concert, in this venue, gave her that chance in spades.
We rose to our feet when the musicians finished, fueled by adrenaline and sheer enjoyment, and demanded several encores. The cellist explained that the encores were written specifically for Trio Bohémo, told us there would be a surprise, and slyly left it at that. The first piece was a rollicking Czech folk song, and we were stunned when the pianist abruptly faced us and burst into song. The cellist and violinist took turns singing along, sometimes while playing their instruments. The three encores were lively and touching, and even though we didn’t understand the lyrics, we caught their enthusiasm and stood to cheer at the conclusion of each one.
When the audience finally let the trio leave the stage, we all buzzed around the club, hugging each other goodbye and paying our tabs.
I told Twila I loved the Schoenfield, that he was new to me. “I loved the popular song he included in the third movement,” I said, “but I couldn’t figure out what it was.”
“It was ‘Ain’t She Sweet,’” Twila answered promptly. “I loved that one, too.”
There you have it, folks. Another successful evening with Chamber Music Tulsa, for classical nerds and their friends.
