Millennium Stage - The Sachi Trio - Milhaud, Stravinsky & Bartok - 04/15/10

Milhaud: Suite for Violin, Clarinet and Piano, Op. 157b
Stravinsky: Seelctions from L'Histoire du Soldat
Bartok: Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet and Piano

On a slow musical week, one can always count on the Millennium Stage for short, fun and free pick-me-ups. So that's where I was on Wednesday evening, for the concert of three members of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra who have formed their own ensemble: The Sachi Trio. I can't say that the program, which included Milhaud, Stravinsky and Bartok, made me drop everything and go, but I rather figured that the combination of violin, clarinet and piano was enough of an oddity to justify a quick jaunt to the Kennedy Center.

The concert started with the most recent piece by the contemporary French composer Darius Milhaud. Opening with a few feisty notes, its short span contained an impressive range of moods and styles, all vivaciously conveyed by the three easily engaging musicians.
Next came a series of selected parts from Stravinsky's theatrical work L'histoire du soldat (The Soldier's Tale) and here again, the diversity of rhythms and themes kept things lively and interesting.
To finish up, Bartok's Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet and Piano were a totally enjoyable study in technical virtuosity and poetic effect, a nice little conclusion to a nice little hour of live music.