Chamber Music Palisades (CMP), the Westside music series celebrated for its stellar artistic line up and juxtaposing works old and new, presents noted artists Sarah Thornblade, violin, Robert Brophy, viola, and Armen Ksajikian, cello, who join series Co-Artistic Directors Delores Stevens, piano, and Susan Greenberg, flute, to perform four mesmerizing chamber music gems on Tuesday, February 1, 2011, 8 p.m., at St. Matthews Parish in Pacific Palisades.
The program includes the West Coast premiere of Jan Novák’s Sonata Tribus for Flute, Violin and Piano, Quartet in D Major, K. 285 for Flute and Strings by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert’s Adagio & Rondo Concertante for Piano Quartet, in F Major, D. 487, and César Franck’s Sonata in A Major.
Mozart’s (1756-1791) lively Quartet in D Major, K. 285 for Flute and Strings is a light and shimmering three-movement piece written for flute, violin, viola and cello that straddles the Baroque and classical periods.
Novák (1921-1984), a Czech composer who gained renown for scoring films for Karel Kachyňa and leading Czech animators Jiřà Trnka and Karel Zeman, wrote Sonata Tribus for Flute, Violin and Piano in 1982, at the end of his life. CMP’s Greenberg obtained the manuscript from noted flutist Clara Novakova, Novák’s daughter, who, along with her mother, pianist Eliska Henousková-Nováková, and violinist Jerzy Nebel, premiered the work that same year. In the tradition of the Baroque trio sonata, the piano is often employed as a propelling rhythmic force, setting a clear contrast with the two solo instruments. The skillful treatment of the upper registers of the two solo voices contributes to the enormous intensity of the work, as in the second movement, where the high tessitura of the flute blends admirably with the violin harmonies.
Schubert (1797-1828) was only 19 when he wrote the enchanting Adagio & Rondo Concertante for Piano Quartet, in F Major, D. 487. While the Adagio section is typical of Schubert, the Rondo is not a real rondo, but rather a lively sonata movement with Mozartean themes.
Franck’s (1822-1890) Sonata in A Major, considered a classic in the violin and piano sonata repertoire, is filled with grace, fantasy, fire, poignancy and drama. One of Franck’s key works, the Sonata continues to captivate performers and audiences alike. Originally written for cello and piano, an influential violinist (possibly the brilliant violin virtuoso Ysaye), objected, and it was revised for violin and piano. Subsequently it has been added to the flute repertoire as well. The piece has four movements, and on the occasion of its West Coast premiere, it will be performed on violin, flute and cello, with each instrument joining the piano in separate movements, and all four instruments featured in the finale.
Chamber Music Palisades – described as “a unique and extraordinary organization†that provides “a transcendent musical experience†– was founded in 1997 by Pacific Palisades residents Stevens and Greenberg, who draw guest artists from their vast pool of talented colleagues in the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and Los Angeles Opera, and from other leading instrumentalists based in the U.S. and Europe. In addition to presenting established chamber works, to date Chamber Music Palisades has commissioned 13 compositions by such renowned composers as Paul Chihara, Jane Brockman, Henri Lazarof, Adrienne Albert, Maria Newman, Gernot Wolfgang and Joel McNeely. The season continues with concerts on March 29, 2011, and May 3, 2011.
Tickets to the concert are $30. St. Matthew’s Parish is located at 1031 Bienveneda in Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. For tickets or a free season brochure, please call 310-463-4388 or visit www.cmpalisades.org.
