For MinTze Wu, founder and director of BenFeng Music Productions, “beauty is not with the absence of pain and struggle.” Rather, beauty is sometimes heart-wrenching and often emerges from hardship.
Such is true in “Kreutzer Sonata,” a story written by Leo Tolstoy named after a convention-breaking sonata composed by Ludwig van Beethoven. Tolstoy’s novella in turn inspired Leoš Janáček’s reimagining of the music as a string quartet seeped in passionate emotion. BenFeng’s “Kreutzer” blends theatrical drama scored not only with the music of Beethoven and Janáček but also Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Ljova and John Tavener — all performed live with prerecorded elements adding atmosphere and depth.
The music of Rudolphe Kreutzer himself does not make an appearance. Kreutzer’s most notable contribution to classical music, Wu explained, was 42 etudes for violin study. His name was made immortal with the dedication of Beethoven’s “Sonata No.9” — a composition Kreutzer called “unintelligible.” According to Wu, the dedication was intended for another violinist-friend of Beethoven’s, but that relationship soured (the rumor goes) when he became romantic with a woman Beethoven was pursuing.
Jealousy in love is thus a fitting theme for Keutzer’s namesake novella by Tolstoy. In the story, the Russian author refers to Beethoven’s “Sonata No.9” as “the most refined form of sensuality.” The provocative music (in true Beethoven style) becomes a catalyst for protagonist Pozdnyshev’s unhinged rage as he suspects an affair is unfolding between his wife, a musician, and another.
The production is set on a train. We don’t know where it’s going or departing from, but for a moment in time, Pozdnyshev holds captive an audience that includes the musicians on stage for a retelling of his murderous jealousy. Poznyshev will be portrayed by Micha Schoepe.
Other performers include Chih-Long Hu on piano, Michael Graham on cello, Chieh-Fan Yiu on viola, Delaney Meyers on violin and Jacon Danelle (an Aspen High School senior) on cello. Wu herself will portray Poznyshev’s violinist wife.
The first production of BenFeng’s “Kreutzer” took place in a warehouse in Taiwan with some of these same musicians. “It was such a breakthrough, because the subject is dark,” Wu explained. “It’s not easy to tell this story and tell it well — to tell it for people that could still find beauty and hope in it.” Wu’s barometer was her mother, a deeply religious person. Wu thought, “This piece is going to offend her. She is going to walk out of the theater … but she loved it.”
BenFeng is proud to partner with Thunder River Theatre Company (TRTC) for this third iteration of the show. “The first time I stepped into TRTC seven years ago, I thought, ‘We have to do Kreutzer here,’” she said. “It’s like a wild dream.”
“The succession of Beethoven’s violin Sonata, Tolstoy’s novella and Janáček’s string quartet is the most unique chain of related masterpieces in music history,” remarked Dr. Tom Buesch, a professor of arts and humanities at Colorado Mountain College. “Can a work of art presenting the musical and theatrical elements buried in the three masterpieces reveal the emotions and ideas behind those masterpieces?”
“I think in art and music we try to look through the cracks,” Wu concluded.