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Transylvanian Odyssey

Sunday, October 11, 2009, 3 pm

Smithsonian American Art Museum
Steinway Series, McEvoy Auditorium

György Kurtág

(b. 1926)

Jelek, játékok és üzenetek

(“Signs, Games and Messages”) (1989–present)
for violin, viola, and cello in various combinations

Dina Koston

(1934–2009)

 

 “For Solo Violin: Homage to Béla Bartók”
(2006, rev. 2008)
written for Sally McLain

Béla Bartók

(1881–1945)

 String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7 (1909)

Ernst von Dohnányi
(1877–1960)

Piano Quintet in C Minor, Op. 1 (1895)
Bartók's first string quartet immediately established his forceful personality, as did Dohnányi's first published work, his Piano Quintet, Op. 1, championed by Brahms. The youthful compositions of these two Budapest Academy classmates form strikingly divergent antecedents for the Romanian-born Kurtág's “Signs, Games and Messages,” an ongoing collection of unique microcosms for violin, viola and cello, and Koston's expression of admiration for Bartók. Pianist Colette Valentine joins the Left Bank Quartet for this zestful October odyssey.
Click here to read the complete program notes for the concert.

Adversity Redeemed

Saturday, November 7, 2009, 8 pm

Dumbarton Church
The Dumbarton Concert Series

Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770–1827)

String Quartet Op. 127 in E-Flat Major (1825)

Richard Strauss
(1864–1949)

 

 

 Sextet for two violins, two violas and two cellos (from the opera “Capriccio”), Op. 85 (TrV 279a) (1941)

Arnold Schoenberg
(1874–1951)

Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4 (1899) for two violins, two violas, and two cellos

The first of Beethoven’s last great outpourings, Schoenberg’s tentative but vivid early steps into an unknown world of atonality, Strauss’s last opera—these works are signposts in the lives of three evocative giants, none of them strangers to political, economic, and personal turmoil. The Left Bank Quartet is joined by distinguished colleagues, violist Maria Lambros and cellist Ken Slowik.

Click here to read the complete program notes for the concert.

Three Excerpts, Three Centuries

Sunday, March 14, 2010, 3 pm

Smithsonian American Art Museum
Steinway Series, McEvoy Auditorium
Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770–1827)

Piano Trio in E Flat Major, Op. 70, No. 2 (1808)

Leon Kirchner

(b. 1919)

String Quartet No. 4 (2006)

Arnold Schoenberg
(1874–1951)

Kammersymphonie, Op, 9 (1906/1923) transcribed for piano quintet by Anton Webern

Beethoven's elegant E-Flat Trio affords a rare glimpse of playful affection and utter contentment; Kirchner's latest quartet is by turns joyous, rhapsodic, opaque, and unbridled; and Schoenberg's manically tempestuous early symphonic venture takes an astonishing turn at the hands of his great pupil, Webern. Format and the span of centuries underlie this expansive array, performed by the Left Bank Quartet and the young pianist, Naoko Takao.
Click here to read the complete program notes for the concert.

 

T H E    L E F T    B A N K    C O N C E R T   S O C I E T Y
Evelyn Elsing and David Salness, Artistic Directors

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