The Levansa Trio will be returning to Greytown on July 23 after a long absence. Its members – Andrew Beer, violin, Lev Sivkov, cello and Sarah Watkins, piano – first came together as an ensemble in 2019, while Lev was visiting from Switzerland to play solo concerts. It was clear from the beginning that this international collaboration between a Canadian, a Russian and a Kiwi had great potential, and that the three musicians felt a spontaneous affinity as chamber music partners.
The performances that emerged during their first series of recitals (including one in Greytown) reflected their enjoyment and satisfaction in making music together, and their audiences seemed to feel it too. The trio agreed to continue playing together – but then the Pandemic intervened!
Despite being on opposite sides of the world, Andrew and Lev performed together on line, and even made impeccable recordings of violin and cello duets by Gliere. Andrew and Sarah also played together on social media, with a guest appearance from her cat!
Sarah says “We’re looking forward to putting the band together, with an intense period of rehearsals before our first concert, in Greytown, as we feel that the rapport we felt the first time around will carry us through.”
Martinu’s Piano Trio No 2, Mozart Adagio by Arvo Part, and NZ composer Clare Cowan’s “Ultraviolet” will feature in the first half of the concert, and the major work on the programme is the epic Tchaikovsky Piano Trio in A minor.
Although Tchaikovsky had previously refused to write a piano trio as he thought the sounds didn’t blend well together, the death of his close friend, Nikolai Rubinstein, who had composed five piano trios, changed his mind. He resolved to commemorate Rubinstein by writing a piano part so virtuosic it would have been worthy of Rubinstein’s keyboard prowess.
Levansa Trio: 4pm Saturday 23 July at 57 Wood Street, Greytown. Admission $30, children $10. Bookings essential – contact Ed and Juliet Cooke on 06 304 9497 or efjacooke@gmail.com
