Arts

Senior Recital: Hannah Lee ’12 and Kelly Stathis ’12

In a program including classical, contemporary, solo and duet pieces, Hannah Lee ’12 and Kelly Stathis ’12 presented an intriguing synthesis of viola and percussion music as they performed their joint Senior Recital in the Timken Room in Graves Hall on Sunday.

Lee began the concert with two movements, “Sarabande” and “Bouree I & II,” of Bach’s “Cello Suite No. 4 in E flat.”

“Sarabande” featured simpler melodies, rich with Lee’s vibrato, in which a string is vibrated around a certain note, producing a blended sound, and a double-bowing technique. “Bouree I & II” incorporated lively staccatos, rapid successions of notes and a complex order of alternating bow movements.

Stathis entered and performed “Suomineito” by Zivkovic on vibraphone. With two mallets in each hand, Stathis meticulously wove an ethereal web of waxing and waning melodies. The song concluded with an evocative final note.

Lee resumed the concert with Kalliwoda’s “Nocturne No. 6 for Viola and Piano, Op. 186.” The piece initiated a minor that gradually alternated with playful melodic passages while Lee demonstrated exuberant double-bowing.

Presenting five movements “Preludio,” “Loure,” “Gavotte en Rondeau,” “Menuet I” and “Giga” of Bach’s “Partita No. 3 in E Major,” Stathis exhibited her technique with the marimba.

The intensity in Stathis’ performance increased with the springy notes and trills of “Gavotte en Rondeau.” The ringing higher notes of “Menuet I,” a sweet, melodic piece, joined with pleasant undertones. The pieces ended with “Giga,” and had an ardent succession of notes.

“The most difficult piece I played was probably the Bach,” professed Stathis, “It was music I was practicing all term.”

Lee then presented “Impetuoso,” a movement of “Sonata for Viola and Piano,” by Rebecca Clarke, as her last solo piece of the concert. The piece began in passionate minor, then a piano interlude eased into luxuriant, darker tones. Resuming the intense stride of the beginning of the movement, Lee resolved the contrasting piece with a delicate tremolo.

“Of my own songs, the Clarke was my favorite,” Lee said.

“Prism” by Abe, Stathis’ last solo piece, was quite fitting to its title. Stathis’ delicate, intermittent notes resembled the refracting light from a prism, only interrupted by the intense constant rhythms of beams of light.

Because of an injury, Marga Kempner ’12 was unable to perform Halvorsen’s “Passacaglia for Violin and Viola in G Minor” as scheduled. Fortunately, Miki Nagahara ’13 assumed the role with an astounding performance. Nagahara and Lee played the piece as a duet with rich sound that melded the melodies with steady supporting notes. Both instruments introduced pizzicato technique, ultimately ending in an accelerando climax and solid closing chords.

“Miki is just an amazing violinist, and she had played it before. The collaboration went without problems,” said Lee.

The final duet, Colgass’ “Variations for Four Drums & Viola,” performed by Lee and Stathis, was the last piece in the concert. “Variation No. V, III, II” included techniques such as pizzicato, stacked bowing by the viola and light beats from the drums.

At the conclusion of the concert, the audience gave a standing ovation to the performers.

“I thought they did a great job, interesting collaborations. There was the classic violin and viola duet; it was very neat to see a viola playing alongside drums, that was very incredible,” said Ryan Canavan ’12.

“I really like playing the duet with Miki and the song with Kelly. I’m glad it’s over and I’d like to congratulate Kelly on her performance,” said Lee.