Violinist David Brubaker and pianist Miryana Moteva on Thursday performed the world premiere of “Death and Spring,” by Barcelona-born composer Marc Migó, a work the two musicians commissioned and was also dedicated to them. It was part of the Schubert Club’s free “Courtroom Concert Series” at St. Paul’s Landmark Center, a fantastic program that often features the talents of Twin Cities musicians.
Brubaker had previously encountered Migó when the Minnesota Orchestra, where Brubaker is a first violinist, commissioned a work by him as part of the Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute in 2020. He said that after he and Moteva received the music for “Death and Spring” a month before the Courtroom Concert, they were part of a process to make changes to it.
“There were some things in here that I didn’t feel were playable,” Brubaker admitted. That’s the beauty of working with a living composer — both of the musicians got to be part of a brand new piece come to life — even as the final tweaks come into place.
Composed in three movements, “Death and Spring” was eerie and earthy. After a low sustained note on the piano, followed by melancholy chords, the violin joined in with moody double stops, as accompanying echoing chords were played on the piano.
While Brubaker may have requested the composer edit the “unplayable” bits, there were still plenty of moments where the violinist showed off his skills, whether that be quickly clawing the strings, performing highly complicated double-stop sections or moving from pizzicato to broad bow-playing with ease.
The piece had lyrical sections as well. Migó’s spring was an early spring, perhaps one that hadn’t entered full force yet. Minnesotans know this type of spring well, especially on a chilly morning in late April, after enjoying nicer days earlier in the month. The moments of spring’s beauty would appear fully formed, and disappear just as quickly.
The musicians’ energies were in sync throughout the work, both focused on their own music pages but also checking in with each other. That was true in the performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in D Major, Op. 94a as well. Moteva, who is studying for a doctorate in collaborative piano performance at the University of Minnesota, would occasionally glance up at her playing partner as the two soared through the movements.
Originally written for flute, titled the Flute Sonata in D, Op. 94, in 1942, Prokofiev arranged it for violin a year later, after urging from a violinist friend.
The work was lyrical, with elements of dissonance as well, when the violin and piano parts wandered off in different directions only to come back together as melodies repeated, changed and came back again.
Introducing the piece, Moteva shared that Prokofiev was her favorite composer, and that joy in the music showed in her playing. The pianist’s hands bounced up and down the keys, lifting them for breath and then furiously moving across the keyboard.
A classical work, the Sonata seemed to have modern elements, especially in some of its surprise moments. It was a work that kept the musicians — and their audience, on their toes.
If you go
- What: The Schubert Club’s Courtroom Concert Series. The next concert features Stephanie Arado, violin; Ruth Marshall, cello; and Garret Ross, piano
- When: Noon, Thursday, April 27
- Where: The Landmark Center, 75 W. Fifth St. St. Paul
- Tickets: Free. More information at schubert.org.
- Capsule: Have music for lunch at the Schubert Club’s free Courtroom Concert series.
