Pinkas, who is a music professor and has been in residence for over fifteen years, first arrived at Dartmouth when she was in her mid-20s, and the Spaulding Auditorium stage has now become her home. As the pianist-in-residence, Pinkas typically performs two concerts each year one solo and one with various configurations of chamber groups.
Throughout her life, Pinkas said her playing has evolved to correspond with her changing emotional state.
"It is as if you are reading a great book you had read as a teenager for a second time the text is the same, but you have changed," Pinkas said. "When I am performing, I feel like I'm telling a story,"
Pinkas met Bitran and Muller-Szeraws only recently, and after just six rehearsals, the trio performed together last Friday on WGBH's radio program in a preview of last night's Spaulding performance.
"Playing on the radio was great practice because you don't know how many people you are playing for," Pinkas said. "In a way, it was like we'd been christened."
Pinkas stressed the importance of finding the right balance between verbal communication and actually playing together.
"All three of us like to take things apart, but also just put them aside and play," Pinkas said. "Each performance is different because each one is a different combination of instruments and music."
The trio began with Antonin Dvorak's "Trio No. 2 in G Minor," composed in 1876 after the death of his baby daughter, according to the Hopkins Center's program notes. In perfect harmony, the three played the "Allegro moderato" and "Scherzo" movements of Dvorak's composition, and in traditional trio manner, the melody seamlessly passed between the three instruments. The powerful crescendos and sweeping decrescendos continuously alternated throughout, each making way for another. It was the "Largo," however, that was the most affecting the players created beautiful musical tension between the gentle pizzicato of the cello and the melody, heard in a violin and piano duet.
"Piano Trio No.2 in E Minor," composed by Shostakovich in 1944, displayed elements of Russian folk music. The "Andante" opened with a faint cello melody, that was joined by the violin. The low rumbling of the piano disturbed the ethereal quality of the soft duet and formed an almost atonal but still cohesive tone. The "Allegro," "Largo" and "Allegretto" featured various powerful dance tunes, all performed perfectly in sync.
Beethoven's "Piano Trio in B-flat Major," titled the "Archduke Trio," was composed in 1811, and this trio posed technical challenges to all three players. The "Andante" movement displayed an almost holy quality, expressive in its nuances but effortless in its execution. There were moments in the performance that were dark and melancholic, but on the whole, the performance was beautiful.
The group's chemistry was apparent in the flawless performance, and Pinkas spoke highly of the importance of the group's friendships.
"It is a beautiful thing when friends meet friends," Pinkas said. "It is a great thing when groupings come from friendships."
Pinkas often performs with her husband Evan Hirsch, and she often travels with him when on tour, Pinkas said. The couple has travelled to many parts of the world, including Russia, Nigeria, China, Israel and Europe. Her experiences around the world have been vital for her music, she said.
"I don't really have a favorite I like all the places I've been," Pinkas said. "Every place is its own experience."
Pinkas occasionally ventures across international borders with Dartmouth students. She accompanies the music Foreign Studies Program to London and teaches classes centering on performance and chamber music, she said. Back home, however, Pinkas mostly teaches piano.
"My students should be curious, and the beautiful thing at Dartmouth is that they get to see me do what I preach," Pinkas said. "I have to go through the same process that I teach them."
Pinkas devotes the same attention to each individual student as she does to each of her performances, she said. Because of the intimate one-on-one setting, Pinkas said she and her students "have to get to know each other." She makes sure to learn her students' strengths and weaknesses in order to be effective in her teaching, but teaching has also benefited her performance skills.
"When you teach an instrument, it hones your own analytical skills," she said.
Pinkas constantly participates in new activities that force her out of her comfort zone to experience what it is like to learn something new, she said.
"When I take swimming lessons, I feel myself changing and learning, thus gaining insight into my students and what they are going through," Pinkas said.
The quality of the students at Dartmouth has been getting "better and better," Pinkas said. Although many of the students in the music department will not become performers, they are all intelligent and eager to learn, Pinkas said, adding that she feeds off of their "buoyancy" and "optimism." Performing on stage, however, is an entirely different experience for her than teaching, she said.
"I never feel more alive than when I'm on stage," Pinkas said. "If anyone tells you they're not nervous, don't believe them."
Pinkas hopes to continue playing and teaching at Dartmouth for many years to come, advising young musicians to take criticism positively and to better "understand and listen."
"Gain the capacity to learn it is the most important skill you will acquire," Pinkas said.
Pinkas graduated from Indiana University and the New England Conservatory of Music, also receiving a PhD in composition and theory from Brandeis University.
