SCHUBERT & SHOSTAKOVICH
Two charming works open this program, which is then brought to a fiery conclusion with one of the most powerful works in the chamber music repertoire. Getting things started is the lyrical late-18th-century Flute Trio, Op. 61, No. 5, by French Classical composer and flute virtuoso François Devienne, who was known in his day as “The Mozart of the Flute.” Next, violist Paul Neubauer and pianist Nicolas Namoradze play Schubert’s much-loved Arpeggione Sonata, whose nickname is a nod to the six-stringed, bowed guitar that was (briefly) popular in the early 19th century and that Schubert originally wrote the work for. To close out the evening, Alan Gilbert, on violin, leads Festival musicians in Shostakovich’s stunning Piano Quintet, which, being very much a product of its time, takes listeners on a wild emotional journey.
DEVIENNE Trio for Flute, Clarinet, and Bassoon, Op. 61, No. 5 (c. 1795)
SCHUBERT Sonata in A Minor for Viola and Piano, D. 821, Arpeggione (1824)
SHOSTAKOVICH Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57 (1940)
Approximate length: 1 hour and 40 minutes
Generously sponsored by Tom Udall and Jill Cooper
