The final notes of Olivier Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time” had ascended to the high ceiling of the Hunter Museum of American Art and then faded away. Pianist Gloria Chien’s fingers were resting, and the three musicians who had performed with her had lowered their instruments. But none of the 200 or so audience members who had come to hear Messiaen’s work, composed in a concentration camp during World War II, were applauding.
Instead, the room was silent. The darkness of the late evening sky, visible through the broad windows of the museum, deepened the calm and created a sense of being isolated in a singular moment in time.
Finally, the room exploded, and Chien released a tightly held breath.
“It’s a powerful piece of music, but it’s not very accessible. I was a little hesitant to perform it, but the audience trusted us, and they got it. It was amazing,” Chien says.
The performance in 2011 was part of an annual series of chamber music concerts called String Theory at the Hunter, now in its third season. A joint endeavor between Hunter in Chattanooga, Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn., and founder and artistic director Chien, String Theory places a relatively small group of listeners in close proximity to internationally renowned musicians, creating the framework for an unforgettable encounter.
“You can see the sweat on the musicians. You can see their bow hair break. You can’t experience that at an orchestral concert. We begin at six o’clock, but some people come an hour early and put their scarves on the closest seats to save them,” Chien says.
Most String Theory concerts consist of two or three pieces and a short talk about the music. But Chien leaves room for improvisation. At the February 9 performance, author and composer Rob Kapilow spent the first half of the evening deconstructing Beethoven’s “Kreutzer” sonata.
“He took the composition apart, brought out the smallest motifs, and then slowly put it back together. He even got the audience into it; he had everyone singing,” Chien says.
Later, Chien and violinist Bella Hristova performed the piece. For Chien, one of the great pleasures of the event was playing music some of the people in the audience had never heard. Yet even those listeners who were familiar with the composition were exposed to exciting new interpretations of its intricately composed passages.
“Our performance was different from what we had demonstrated because our convictions had changed. We couldn’t help but put something of ourselves in the music. Even when a composer has penned something and it’s on paper, when we go on stage, it has to be our own, or it won’t be convincing,” Chien says.
Chien was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan, and grew up learning to play the piano. Her mom was a violinist in the symphony, so in a way, music chose Chien rather than the other way around. But she’s grateful for the training she received.
“I spend a lot of hours on my own, and it’s frustrating when I can’t break through to where I want to be. There are times when it’s challenging for me, but I always come back to it. You have to really love this to do it,” she says.
When Chien was 14, her parents sent her to a boarding school in Boston. Following high school, Chien attended the New England Conservatory of Music, where she earned multiple degrees, including a doctorate of musical arts. One of her favorite perks of living in Boston was hearing music performed in the ornate Tapestry Room at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
\“I love connecting different art forms. It stimulates all of your senses. So, the idea of having concerts in a museum has always appealed to me,” Chien says.
hien also spent six summers at Music@Menlo, a chamber music festival and institute in the San Francisco Bay area, as part of her training. While chamber music lends itself to small spaces and intimate performances, the scope of its impact on Chien has been immeasurable.
“Musicians are trained as soloists. You spend a lot of time alone in your practice room honing your skills. But when I started to play chamber music, I felt liberated. It took the attention away from me and allowed me to start creating something with other musicians,” Chien says.
In time, Chien began coaching other students at Music@Menlo and eventually became the director of the chamber music institute there. She added teaching to her repertoire eight years ago when Lee University hired her as an associate professor.
Chien's purpose in creating the concert series was to bring the highest quality chamber music to Chattanooga. She knew doing so would involve attracting globally respected talent, but she didn’t allow the apparent obstacle to stop her. Instead, Chien started writing the people she’d always admired, and with whom she’d always wanted to perform.
David Shifrin, one of the most celebrated clarinetists alive, was among those who received correspondence from Chien.
“I didn’t know him, but I wrote to him about my project, and he agreed to perform. I thought, ‘If someone like David Shifrin is willing to come, a world of possibilities is open to me,’” Chien says.
Chien didn’t stop at Shifrin. Some of the internationally acclaimed musicians she’s attracted to String Theory for the current season include violinist Cho-Liang Lin, French horn player William VerMeulen, violinist Jaime Laredo and cellist Sharon Robinson. Lin’s popularity in his home country of Taiwan equals that of Yo-Yo Ma elsewhere, and Laredo performed and recorded with Isaac Stern.
“I’m grateful to these musicians, not only because they’re open to helping young musicians they don’t know, but also because they believed in my vision,” Chien says.
Chien, who made her orchestral debut at the age of 16 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, underestimates her own renown. The Boston Globe selected her as a Superior Pianist of the Year, one “who appears to excel in everything.” In reviewing one of Chien’s performances, Globe music critic Richard Dyer praised her “wondrously rich palette of colors, which she mixes with dashing bravado.”
In addition, Chien’s CD with violinist Joanna Kurkowicz of music by Grazyna Bacewicz has received positive reviews in several prestigious publications. Finally, the Chamber Music Society Two of Lincoln Center has asked Chien to join its roster, beginning this year.
Before Chien leaves for New York, she must complete the two remaining concerts in the 2011-2012 season of String Theory. The next one, scheduled to take place March 8, will feature Chien and the Miró String Quartet performing pieces by Haydn and Elgar.
“The Elgar piano quintet is rarely performed, so even people who attend a lot of concerts will rarely have an opportunity to hear it. It’s a great piece, so I encourage everyone to come,” Chien says.
Chien is also looking forward to the final concert of the year, scheduled to take place April 19. The program will include music by Shostakovich, Dvorak and Mendelssohn, and Chien will share the stage with eight good friends.
“The Mendelssohn octet is one of his most beloved works. And some of the best young musicians today will be performing it. This is the program I have wanted to do since I started String Theory. It’s going to explode,” Chien says.
While String Theory is Chien’s brainchild, she says the concert series would not have happened without the incalculable support of Hunter, Lee University and her advisory board. With their help, Chien has been able to transport the people of Chattanooga to destinations unlike many of them have experienced.
“This city has a lot of potential. I have played concerts elsewhere in which the people in the audience knew the music and what to expect. But it’s a privilege to bring music to people who are listening to it for the first time,” Chien says.
For more information on String Theory, visit www.huntermuseum.org, click on “Learn,” and then click on “String Theory.”