23/24 Winstead Chamber Music Series

Dvořák scholar Jaroslav Holeček wrote that the American Quartet “reflects the happy, restful moments and the magic of the beautiful countryside…beginning shortly after sunrise.” Dvořák’s lyrical and exuberant String Quartet opens the Winstead Chamber Music Series alongside Libby Larsen’s energetic Corker for clarinet and percussion, and John Harbison’s complex and fearless Quintet for Winds. Brahms’ robust and sentimental String Quartet No. 1 closes the program.

“It's impossible to listen to all four movements of the quartet without an awareness of death’s shadow stalking Schubert and emerging in the most funereal passages" (Classic FM). Franz Schubert wrote his String Quartet, Death and the Maiden, near the end of his life, capturing the emotions of wrestling with mortality in a tapestry of dialogues between the players. Beethoven and Dvořák’s Serenades bookend an evening of reflection on what it means to have lived.

Tchaikovsky’s Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello is a gigantic piece of music considering the size of the ensemble. Written in memory of Tchaikovsky’s friend and teacher Nicholas Rubinstein, the piece is full of rich textures and wonderful melodies, but there is a poignant emotionality present throughout, culminating in a finale drenched in despair and mourning. Brahms’ touching and beautiful Trio precedes this mammoth piece, while Ruth Gipp’s playful dialogue between winds and harp, representing the story of Pan & Apollo’s competition, opens the program.

The Winstead Chamber Music Series concludes its 23/24 season with a collection of music highlighting the CSO’s winds and strings. From the folk-inspired Schulhoff Concertino and the reflective Reinecke Trio, to the rhapsodic and rhythmic Trio from Khachaturian and the crafted harmonies of Schumann’s String Quartet, there is something for every chamber music fan to love.