THE DÍAZ BROTHERS VISIT BREVARD

Heredity has been known to play a role in musical ability. Think of the minor composer J. Michael Haydn who was the younger brother of Franz Joseph Haydn, or Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, the sister of Felix Mendelssohn. Among performers, think of Peter Serkin, the son of Rudolf Serkin, or the four Chicago-born siblings Timothy, Janet, Phillip and David Ying who for twenty years comprised the Ying Quartet, now the quartet-in-residence at the Eastman School of Music. (Timothy Ying played his last concert with the quartet on April 26 of this year. The new first violinist is Frank Huang.)

In 1972, the Chilean violist Manuel Díaz moved his family to the United States where he began a long tenure with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. His family included two sons. In another example of talent abounding in one family, Roberto studied viola while Andrés studied the violoncello. They are now at the peak of successful careers as performers and educators, but once again took time out of their busy schedules to visit Brevard Music Festival. Andrés Díaz delivered a chamber music concert last Monday and Roberto Díaz followed suit on Wednesday. The Díaz brothers are always an inspiration for the Brevard Music Center students. During the summer of 2001, Andrés performed the world premiere of Gunther Schuller’s "Concerto for Cello and Orchestra" in Brevard, and for several summers the Music Center welcomed the Díaz String Trio, in which violinist Andrés Cárdenes joins Andrés and Roberto.

Andrés Díaz is Associate Professor of Music at Southern Methodist University. For fifteen years, he pursued an active solo career touring with the late collaborative pianist Samuel Sanders (who was also the favorite pianist of cellists Leonard Rose, Yo-Yo Ma, Lynn Harrell, Jacqueline du Pre and Mstislav Rostropovich). He collaborated with BMC faculty for two works on Monday, July 13, but the feature of his chamber concert at the Porter Center was Zoltán Kodály’s “Sonata for Unaccompanied Cello (Op. 8).” A János Starker recording of this work has been in my collection for 56 years (first an LP bought in 1953, then a CD of a 1970 performance). The work is unfamiliar to many, not surprising since it is so difficult and seldom performed. The cello strings are “detuned” to A, D, F# and B, allowing the open strings to provide a “drone” in this 1915 composition, which is modal, quotes Hungarian folk tunes and incorporates astonishing double stopping.

Roberto Díaz is now President of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he joined the faculty in 2000. He was principal viola of the National Symphony under Mstislav Rostropovich, and previously played in the Boston Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra. For the first half of his Brevard Music Center appearance this year, he was accompanied by a talented young Curtis School piano student, Andrew Tyson, who showed great sensitivity in de Falla and Brahms selections. Following intermission, Roberto became second viola to Mary Persin when he joined the Biava String Quartet to play Mozart’s "String Quintet in G minor, K. 516."

Before intermission, Díaz and Tyson departed from the printed program to play a short piece in memory of “the patron saint of Brevard,” Linda Candler. The work was a transcription of a song Beau Soir by Claude Debussy, which exhorts one to enjoy life “For we are going on, as this stream goes on: The stream to the sea, we to the grave.” A most appropriate sentiment.

Roberto Díaz was playing the same Amati viola that was used for the concert career of famed violist William Primrose. Primrose was a teacher of Manuel Díaz, who in turn was Roberto Díaz’ first viola instructor. It is all in the family, indeed.

© 2009 Edward C. McIrvine

Arts Spectrum column #442

July 17, 2009