The universe provides.

So it’s the Toby Appel-coached Franck Piano Quintet fellow’s ensemble that I have been assigned to follow through the festival. That means getting to know all five musicians, being present at their coaching sessions, sitting in on some of their own work sessions and, finally, hearing their work come to fruition on the Packard Hall stage as they perform for the public.

This morning at 9 am was slated to be their first encounter with Franck’s masterpiece, with the exception of pianist Anthony Wu who was given a head start to help prepare this wicked keyboard challenge. 

First violinist Ann Wnek, second violinist Isabel Chen, and cellist Ethan Blake were asked to sight read their parts for the first time. The weather has gotten the best of violist Nina Weber who will hopefully arrive later today. A quintet becomes a quartet?

Not so fast. Appel just happens to be a world class violist and was free until 10 am when he was to join a faculty ensemble rehearsal for the Camille Saint-Saëns Septet - on the program for the festival’s first public concert on Wednesday night (my review will appear in print and online for the Colorado Springs Gazette on Friday). 

Voila! A quintet. Their mission was to play through as much of the work they could and then begin figuring out how to turn musical notes and dynamic markings into a profound work of art. And in their midst? An unexpected musical master who has had a lifelong relationship with this quintet.

Right to it. Maybe they would just play straight through the opening movement. Well… not a chance. “Don’t take our tempo,” called to Wu out after only a few minutes. The strings’ bold, robust opening is countered by a dreamy, other-worldly expression from the piano. And they labored on.

Appel who, it safe to say cares little for preexisting conventions, urged his team to “erase all the stupid markings” on their music. Oops- he was coaching.

Wise words were filling the rehearsal space along with some surprisingly engaging music. My favorite of Appel’s suggestions was to consider dynamic “hairpins” - when dynamics are asked to rise and fall in the time it takes to take a breath - as “energy devices or even life cycles- however deep you want to go with that.”

Appel had extra words for Chen who he asked to consider playing a broad melody on just one string of her instrument to produce a more romantic aura and for Wu, who he wanted to borrow some inspiration from dramatic acting- “take what you know so far, then you can turn on it.”

Appel’s time was up. So was mine as we left our Franck explorers to go it alone for now.