Dolce Suono: From Clearfield to Mozart

The newest item on Dolce Suono's chamber program at the Art Museum was Andrea Clearfield's Rhapsodie for Flute, Harp, and String Trio, a commission that Dolce Suono premiered earlier this year. Clearfield chose a combination of instruments that French composers have turned into a genre, and the program paired her work with a notable example of French prowess, Albert Roussel's 1925 Serenade.

Both are pieces in which all five musicians work at full tilt, simultaneously, through much of the score. Roussel was a French naval officer, and his final movement sounds as busy as a thriving port.

Clearfield's Rhapsodie is more structured than her title suggests, with an overall form built around a single theme. It's more intense than the Roussel, but it ends with a final serene moment. It's another addition to a catalogue that has made Clearfield one of Philadelphia's most popular composers.

"'Extended family'

The Art Museum presented the program in conjunction with its "Philadelphia Orchestra Connection" series, and the designated emcee, violinist Paul Arnold, referred to flutist Mimi Stillman and harpist Coline-Marie Orliac as members of the Orchestra's "extended family." Stillman, of course, is the indefatigable young virtuoso responsible for Dolce Suono. Orliac is a rising French harpist who's currently studying at Curtis. The five of them presented a program that glowed from start to finish.

Stillman's flute was the natural center of attention in both opening selections; she's a star performer who turned in a top performance. But both works are truly ensemble pieces. All the performers get their moments in the spotlight, and all get some striking passages in the Clearfield. Neither piece would work without five musicians who possess a sure understanding of their individual roles.

Violists get their moment

The second half opened with Debussy's Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp— a piece that Stillman accurately described as a major work for all three instruments. Debussy presented violists with a rare opportunity to share the spotlight, and Burchard Tang rose to the occasion with a particularly sweet, nuanced performance.

For the finale, the group wisely abandoned the French emphasis on color and slipped into the very different world created by Mozart's Quartet in D Minor for Flute, Violin, Viola and Cello. Stillman produced a silvery flute line, and her three colleagues blended it with string playing that combined elegance with just the right amount of depth.

That balance of grace and substance is the key to good Mozart playing. Their version of Mozart's gem was, in fact, one of the best Mozart performances I've heard.