IN SPIRITU
A Revelation in Brass: The Belvedere Series at Louis F. Ryan Recital Hall (Richmond, VA): Concert Review (excerpts)
“Sommerville (former principal horn of the Boston Symphony), Salerni (a member of the Attacca Quartet), and Keller played with a keen spontaneity that rewarded patience….Sommerville’s cadenza, stark and enigmatic yet with a full, rounded tone, was a treat in itself. Keller kept the sustaining pedal depressed during the cadenza, and the piano’s strings vibrated with ghostly echoes.
It was in the final movement, “Sublimatum,” that all the gestures and phrases in the preceding three finally coalesced, like a mist settling on a surface and becoming a rivulet of water. A gorgeous hushed melody, rapt as a lullaby, evolved into a heroic register. The instruments no longer seemed to be talking past each other, but playing together; the music had a clear direction, pointed towards the infinite. Quickly after reaching a climax, it evaporated again, but the catharsis was profoundly satisfying.
So: A big kudos to Keller for commissioning this work, and to her, Sommerville, and Salerni for bringing it to life so vividly. It would be enlightening to listen to this trio again with its closing moments in mind, and fortunately this group will record it for eventual release in a commercial compilation of Agócs’s works.”
- 1 June 2026, DMV Classical, Review of the world premiere of In Spiritu (Horn Trio), Andrew Lindemann Malone