Street-Kalam Recital

Understatement was the dominant note of the violin and piano recital presented by Tison Street and Tonu Kalam Tuesday night at Quincy House. Street's mellow tone, meticulous phrasing, and polished technique served as a transparent medium for the expression of every nuance of the music; Tonu Kalam's accompaniment was equally controlled, if the least bit more rodust. As a combination, they were nearly flawless, freely molding the music into the shape they desired without intruding between the music and the audience.

The opening movement of J.S. Bach's Sonata No.5 was reposed and meditative. Kalam used the lyrical possibilities of the piano to spin out long, smooth lines. Street's approach was even more subdued; his tone was always sweet-sometimes almost ethereal.

The rest of the sonata sounded equally refined; Street and Kalam negotiated the complex counterpoint and rhythms of the fast movements with complete confidence. Unfortunately, Street was consistently slightly overbalanced by the piano. His playing never became at all fiery, while Kalam's did on occasion. In every other respect, however, the performers' coordination was perfect--quite an achievement considering the dynamic and rhythmic liberties they took with the sonata.

Debussy'sSonata in G minor, written shortly before the composer's death, is a piece of varying moods, ranging from slow, nostalgic passages to hard metallic ones. In this performance, the most impressive sections were the frequent fantasia-style passages; the entire second movement was excellent. The more romantic phrases sounded a little dry.

More exciting, however, was Leon Kirchner's Sonata Concentrate. This sonata, composed in 1952, is long, elaborate, and tightly packed; its textures are brilliant and its technical demands high. After a slow and baffling opening it is consistently fast-moving. Street handled all the technical problems of the work with complete ease, and attained a more brilliant tone than before. What had been a solemn and quiet recital became at the end a passionate one as well.