Tara Helen O’Connor, flute
Jeewon Park, piano
Steven Copes, violin
Edward Arron, cello
Click here for biographical information
J.S. Bach: Trio Sonata in c minor from the The Musical Offering, BWV 1079
Schnittke: Musica Nostalgica for Cello and Piano (1992)
Martinu: Trio for Flute, Violin and Piano
Ravel: Piano Trio in a minor
Kenji Bunch: Velocity for Flute and Piano (2007)
About the Program:
J.S. Bach’s Trio Sonata in c minor is a four movement work from his Musical Offering, composed in 1747, for Frederick II, the King of Prussia. Frederick, an accomplished flutist, composed a theme for which Bach wrote a set of variations, which he dedicated to Frederick, his patron. The e minor sonata is one of the highlights of the Musical Offering.
Russian composer Alfred Schnittke wrote his Musica Nostalgica in 1992, shortly after he had a near-fatal stroke. Schnittke’s harmonies are complex and at times dissonant, but he uses a modern tonal language to create a work of sublime emotion. This piece evokes a sense of wistfulness and reflects the struggles that Schnittke faced in the last part of his life.
Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu was an extremely prolific composer, writing over 400 works, including many for a wide array of chamber ensembles. His Trio for Flute, Violin and Piano reflects the influence of Maurice Ravel, and like much of his work, seems to bubble and sparkle like champagne.
Maurice Ravel composed his Piano Trio in a minor in 1913, just after World War II broke out. He wrote to a friend “I have never worked so hard, with such insane heroic rage” and the result was one of the most magnificent piano trios ever written. In this piece, Ravel employs exotic rhythmic patterns from his native Basque region, a Baroque-inspired Passacaglia, a dance movement that mimics Malaysian verse, and a dramatic orchestral final movement with a dazzling climax, to create one of the true masterpieces of chamber music literature.