Thursday, February 6, 1997
MUSIC:
Performance will feature blend of jazz, classical harmoniesBy
Jessica Yorke
Daily Bruin Contributor
After more than 20 years of marriage, the music of love is still
in the air for musicians Jamie Larendo and Sharon Robinson. Their
harmonious romance is played out both behind the scenes and on
concert-hall stages all over the world.
Together with their friend Joseph Kalichstein, they form the
Kalichstein-Larendo-Robinson Trio (KLR). The threesome will play a
program with esteemed violinist Pinchas Zukerman, including the
music of Mozart, Shostakovich and Dvorak at the Veterans Wadsworth
Theater on Thursday.
"It stands to reason that if they have been around for 20 years
then they’re going to be close," explains trio manager Stan Attman.
"And Kalichstein manages  he’s got a great sense of humor."
Apart from an unusual musical relationship, the real reason for
seeing the KLR is undoubtedly because they are considered one of
today’s top 10 classical ensembles. Their recent album contains
mixes of jazz as well as classically disciplined arrangements in
the romantic style.
The combination of Kalichstein, an Israeli-born pianist and
Jamie Larendo, a violinist with Bolivian roots, may be the key to
their willingness to experiment with beats and rhythms from
different countries.
"Music is so internationalized today that it’s difficult to
trace just how much it matters that two of the trio have European
backgrounds. But, they do spend a lot of time travelling around the
cities they’ve toured in and that must find its way into their
music somehow," explains Attman.
"If you’re a fan of music like I am," Attman continues, "then
you want to get a chance to see them. I mean, I always regret
missing seeing Dizzie Gillespie and in the classical world, they’re
really in his calibre, they’re people you’re going to want to say
you’ve seen play in the future."
The Los Angeles program is very much a combination of jazz and
classical influences. Attman acknowledges that the group puts a
twist on traditional classical performances. "Their demeanor does
seem pretty stiff in their photos, but they’re very warm people. I
know all of them personally and Kalichstein really is a very funny
guy," Attman says.
The trio is in the middle of a 25-city anniversary tour of the
United States which has taken them from their base in New York City
to Washington D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Pittsburgh,
Spain, Italy, Finland and Hungary.
Continuing the anniversary theme, they will perform a
Brahms-Mendelssohn-Schubert series, in honor of the 100th
anniversary of Brahms’ death, the 150th anniversary of
Mendelssohn’s death and the 200th anniversary of Schubert’s
birth.
Such epic occasions require a depth of musical spirit which the
KLR has proved it is capable of. Their first performance together
was at the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter in 1977. Attman
tells the story of their accidental formation as one of the great
moments in contemporary music.
"It all started in New York, in a place called the 92nd Street
Y, where Jamie was artistic director of their Chamber Music Series
then," Attman says. "Jamie and Sharon were already married at that
time and they were playing together with a pianist called Rudolf
Firkusny. The piano player got sick just before they were due to
play, so they asked Kalichstein if he wanted to play with them
because they didn’t want to have to change the program."
Attman continues, "They weren’t officially a trio then, that was
just one gig that they had that just determined the direction they
took and how they decided to play more material together. It was
like, ‘Hey! Let’s think about this for a moment!"
Over the years the trio has completed a number of albums on
various labels, won numerous international awards and have
top-billed Carnegie Hall’s ‘Centennial’ Series, helping celebrate
100 years of America’s most illustrious music center and still have
time to pursue successful solo careers.
Their first recording, "Legacies," with Arabesque records was
released last September. "It sold pretty well," Attman says, "I
mean, it’s contemporary chamber music so that’s pretty esoteric
stuff. It’s basically collectors who have bought the disc Â
it’s not really for the mainstream."
But whether or not the combination of modern jazz dance and
chamber music works for the average listener is not KLR’s main
preoccupation. They feel that the purpose of working with such
diverse materials as Stanley Silverman’s Charleston and the
abstract work of Ellen Taaffe Zwillich is to introduce a new
classical age which can fuse the romantic with the
contemporary.
MUSIC: Pinchas Zukerman performs with the
Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio tonight at the Veterans Wadsworth
Theater. Tickets are $32, $29, and $9 for students. For more
information, call (310) 825-2101.
UCLA Center for the Performing Arts
Violinist Pinchas Zukerman performs with the
Kalichstein-Larendo-Robinson Trio tonight.