On May 15, the Boston Chamber Music Society concluded its season at Harvard University's Sanders Theatre in Cambridge. Martin Beaver, violin; Ronald Thomas, cello; and Mihae Lee, piano, performed. Although BCMS comprises a wide variety of talented musicians, these three shared chemistry and cohesion, which made them more of a single, harmonious unit than three individual performers. Compared to the rest of the season, which had programs that included somewhat less-accessible pieces, this final concert provided euphonic pleasure that proved impossible not to enjoy. The trio opened the evening with Schubert's "Adagio in E-flat major, D. 897." True to its name, the "Notturno" trio, the piece was reminiscent of a nocturne. It sustained a deliberate inertia and relaxed quality but told a dramatic narrative in its short time. Unusually compact for a trio, the piece highlights Schubert's ability to create pure harmonic beauty since it is unencumbered by textural and thematic variety. While larger classical works contain many different sections and motifs, this short piece focuses more on the many ways to express a little bit of thematic material. Continuous arpeggios accompany the melody in much of the piece, creating a sense of soothing repetition and contentment. The same resolute theme that begins the piece returns throughout, strengtened and nuanced with each iteration. The BCMS trio captured the piece's character, playing indulgently and taking liberties with tempo and dynamics. The musicians played with ease, grace and a measured precision that both captured the music's serene, ethereal quality and allowed them to create powerful, expansive musical statements. Beaver and Thomas played with such perfect unity that the piece became more of a dialogue between two instruments, piano and strings, than it was between three independent voices.

Mendelssohn's "Piano Trio in D minor, Opus 49" concluded the first half of the performance. It is a dramatic and stormy piece, filled with conflict and tension. The trio played it at a surprisingly fast tempo that gave it fluidity and emphasized the piece's compelling overall narrative. However, they did so at the expense of some of the more elegant harmonic moments and delicate hairpin turns that characterize this work.

In the first movement, Thomas particularly stood out, creating a rich, sonorous sound in the cello's themes, which the theater's excellent acoustics showcased. The trio played with momentum and vitality, even in the more lyrical second movement. They played the scherzo-which means "joke" in Italian-quite literally, as a joke, and so fast that some details were lost. However, they departed from the piece's character, as the scherzo should, and even elicited some chuckles from the audience.

After three dramatic, involved movements, the trio was still able to play a compelling final movement by pushing the tempo's limit even further. In doing so, they showed the relationship between the movements and the cohesiveness of the piece itself, playing the whole work as if in a single breath. It really is a tribute to the music itself that it is so full of beautiful detail, but also wonderful on a larger scale. Similar to the Schubert, it was more a piece of dramatic narrative than an exploration of different musical styles and textures.

The BCMS trio completed the program with "Brahms' Piano Trio in B major, Op. 8." In this uncommon and sunny key, Brahms transitions seamlessly between moments of yearning tension and beautiful, sumptuous melody. It is a diplomatically split piece, where each instrument plays an equal part, and the dialogue between the three instruments constitutes the narrative and provides momentum.

The BCMS trio played this complex piece with a seemingly effortless assurance and ease. They emphasized the latent connection between the scherzo and adagio, written as almost a continuation of one another, by waiting only for a moment in between movements and turning pages only after the adagio began. In the third movement, the trio relished each phrase and moments of resolute unison highlighted the beautiful tension and harmonies that arose out of them. The final movement, a perfect end to the evening, was expressive and passionate but perhaps ended a bit too chaotically. After accelerating the tempo so much, the trio should have taken the ending more deliberately and carefully.

The theater itself suited the performance. Full of dark wood panelling with high Gothic ceilings, it has an austere beauty and grandeur. Its octagonal shape, and pews in place of individual seats, give it an intimacy that other theaters lack. The musicians themselves were actually somewhat distant and unengaging, rarely ever glancing at one another, but the coherence and unity of their performance made it clear that they must communicate while they perform. The one disappointing element of the evening was that the theater was only about half full, and those present largely had white hair and orthopedic shoes. In this vein, I will be one of the many to urge all students to take advantage of the many excellent cultural opportunities in the area.

In an area with such a rich musical culture, full of innovation and creative exploration, such a conventional program is somewhat of a rare find. It was a wonderful final performance for BCMS in that it focused simply on drama and beauty, which, after all, should always be present in music.

Rather than showing variety, they picked a musical idea and followed it through three great composers. In doing so, BCMS ended its season with a night of exquisite artistry that left everyone waiting eagerly for the next season.