Bruce Hodges visits the Studzinski Recital Hall in Brunswick, ME, US, on 30 July 2025 for the recital of Beethoven, Smetana and Mozart, part of the Bowdoin International Music Festival
As the Bowdoin Festival reached its final days, this upbeat evening seemed an ideal tonic after a month of oppressive heat over much of the region.
The array of musicians also underlined one reason why the bucolic Maine destination attracts performers from all over the United States. Here the disparate locales included the Eastman School of Music, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Columbus State University, Indiana University, Rice University, the Clark Art Institute and the New England Conservatory.
For Beethoven’s Piano Trio no.1, pianist Tao Lin leaped into the fray, setting the pace for YooJin Jang on violin and cellist Denise Djokic, all notable for their precision. Jang’s nimble runs were a joy on their own, along with Djokic’s legato, and the trio was beautifully balanced and persuasive, reaching a climax with its own sly take on the dizzying finale.
In remarks about Smetana’s From My Homeland (1880), violinist Sergiu Schwartz mentioned the work’s tipsy feeling, suggesting that it might have been related to the composer’s loss of hearing a few years earlier. Schwartz was joined by pianist Jeewon Park, and together they captured Smetana’s folk-inspired exuberance, with the violinist particularly effective in the giddy rhythms of the second piece.
To close came Mozart’s String Quintet no.3 in C major, with Djokic returning and joined by violinists Ayano Ninomiya and Meg Freivogel, plus violists Atar Arad and Ivo-Jan van der Werff. It’s old news, but Mozart’s masterpiece often brings out the best in artists, as happened here.
BRUCE HODGES
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