The Ahn Trio

February 7 2006

The City Hall Theatre

The Ahn Trio are three remarkably gifted sisters who play the violin, cello and piano respectively. These young women: Lucia, Angella and Maria Ahn, have been compared with the pop-star girl quartet Bond, but they are very much their own trio, working with contemporary composers such as Maurice Jarre of Dr. Zhivago fame and others who have been instrumental in developing contemporary music to the point at which it now finds itself.

The Ahn Trio continues a trend that I have observed during this Bermuda Festival ? contemporary is no longer a largely academic exploration of the art form in question. Now, it seems increasingly to have moved to a point where beauty and interpretation, accomplished through an extremely high level of virtuosity, is a very large part of the equation.

Garth Fagan Dance demonstrated that, and we were made to appreciate the point again here.

The development of technique through years of compositional exploration at a high academic level is now being utilised to tremendous effect in some lovely and intriguing compositions.

"Winter from the Engadiner Suite" by Maurice Jarre is a case in point. It is hardly surprising that the composers who are doing this are often known for their film scores, and Jarre, as I have said, composed music for Dr. Zhivago, and also Lawrence of Arabia.

The piece is a highly eloquent one, a musical description of the Swiss Alps in winter that was brought into focus more completely by the Ahn Trio's interpretation.

Haunting and evocative, the richly textured dynamics brought to life the massive mountains, delicate flakes of snow and indeed, the complete scene.

That piece was their introduction, and they chose follow it with a piece that was, I think, the highlight of the evening.

By Kenji Bunch, "Swing Shift: Music for Evening Hours", this very new composition, written in 2002, in six movements is a musical description of New York at night. In it, the composer vividly describes traffic, rain drops, a jazz club ? and most interesting and exciting of all, a groovebox, used by music club deejays to create their own layered rhythms and textures.

It's also something of a musical journey, oscillating between a variety of twentieth century musical styles.

The first movement's early bars are reminiscent of Gershwin, moving quickly to a utilise techniques developed to create a futuristic feel, easing into the comforting rhythms of slow jazz, then exploding into the frantic rhythms of New York City. It was a dazzling performance that invigorated and thrilled the audience, filled with gorgeous contrasts and electrifying techniques.

The remainder of the programme continued this musical exploration with an emphasis on creating truly exquisite music: the gorgeous, romantic harmonies of Michael Nyman's "Big My Secret", from the film The Piano, the deeply carved rhythms of David Balakrishnan's "Skylife", and the really remarkable techniques employed for The Doors' "Riders on the Storm", creating sounds that really can best be described as crackling electricity, underlaid with a deep and thunderous timbre, creating the feel and atmosphere of a thunder storm.

It is an extraordinarily successful interpretative work that owes its exceptional qualities to Michael Rataj who transcribed it for the trio - and, indeed, to the Ahns' interpretation of that work.

The evening concluded with a beautiful "Tango" by Astor Piazzolla, infused with all the fervour, fire ? and fun ? of that most passionate of dances.

Of course, the audience would not leave without an encore, for which they chose "My Funny Valentine", a delightful way to conclude.

The audience left much richer and with an enhanced understanding of where the world of contemporary music now sits for the experience of having seen this wonderful trio of musicians.