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Program Notes ( E-Newsletters preview each concert. If you wish to be added to the mailing list please E-mail us .) |
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A Brief Overview of our Concert October 6, 2008 with Natalie Zhu, piano Haydn Quartet in Bb Major (“Sunrise”) Verdi Quartet in E Minor Schumann Piano Quintet in Eb Major Our season opener features two of the greatest pieces of chamber music, joined by one little known masterpiece. Haydn’s “Sunrise” quartet is a true charmer with its serene opening and slow movement, its perky and quirky menuetto and its fun finale with its lopsided accents and runaway coda. Schumann’s piano quintet, the first of the great piano quintets, is a monumental work with its boisterous first movement, its funereal slow movement, its rollicking scherzo and powerful finale which contains some of the finest fugal writing ever. I’m not a particular fan of the fugue, having heard too many pedantic and clumsy ones in my career — but these (and the ones in the Verdi quartet) are completely successful and a convincingly inevitable part of the music. Enjoy! In between these two works is a totally uncharacteristic work by Giuseppe Verdi: his string quartet. Arguably the most difficult piece to play in the quartet repertoire, it is a true virtuoso work written by the giant of grand opera during a lull in rehearsals due to the illness of one of the singers. The lyrical first movement is filled with drama and is very powerful, the slow movement sweet but spiced with temperamental outbursts, the scherzo flies like the wind but with an unexpectedly eloquent middle section tenor solo, and the finale sports some of the finest fugal writing since Schumann’s (who was an absolute master of fugue), full of whispered plottings and impassioned shouting and ending with a full-out romp that will tickle your ears.
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Remember our old slogan, “Bring a Friend”? This is how 1807 & Friends has grown into what has been called Philadelphia’s foremost chamber ensemble. We invite you — and your friends — to be a part of this special season of great chamber music. Our artists — and their most talented friends — look forward to sharing our unique musical offerings with you.
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Our E-Newsletter previewing the concert programs will come to you prior to each concert. If you wish to be added to this mailing list please E-mail us |