FARMINGTON – On Saturday, September 17, Maine Mountain Chamber Music will perform in Nordica Auditorium at the University of Maine at Farmington, starting at 7:30 p.m, in a program of wonderful music by Brahms, Beethoven and Bloch, each of whom was considered one of the greatest representatives of his era.
Along with MMCM codirectors pianist Yuri Funahashi and violist Laurie Kennedy, the concert will feature violinist Joseph Swensen, hornist Victoria Eisen, and cellist Marc Johnson. Victoria Eisen held long-term principal french horn positions with the Chamber Orchestra of New York and Solisti New York, and has made frequent appearances with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the New York City Ballet, the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Opera, and in numerous Broadway musical productions. Joseph Swensen has served as principal conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and of the Malmö Opera in Sweden, and has been a regular guest conductor for numerous other orchestras. Before he dedicated himself to conducting, Swensen enjoyed a highly successful career as a violin soloist. Cellist Marc Johnson had a distinguished career as a member of the prestigious Vermeer String Quartet, which for 35 years made extensive tours yearly in Europe and North America, and whose recordings gathered critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. Johnson plays on a cello made by Francesco Stradivarius in c. 1730.
Beethoven’s piano quartet was originally written as a quintet for piano and four wind instruments; it is a tribute to Beethoven’s creativity and craft that this work is every bit as great in the rewritten form for piano and three string instruments. From program notes by Will Hertz (written for the Sebago-Long Lakes Festival), the work has “Mozartean grace and fluency;” the first movement has themes “marked by simple, relaxed charm;” and the finale is of “rollicking good humor.”
Also on the program is Ernest Bloch’s Suite hébraïque for viola and piano. Laurie Kennedy will be soloist with the Portland Symphony Orchestra this fall in the orchestral version of Suite hébraïque.
“Bloch’s Suite hébraïque celebrates his Jewish heritage. Its opening Rhapsodie is lush, evocative, and above all, passionate. The second movement is called Processional, an exotic march of great power and resolve. Affirmation concludes the work with a stately dance full of grace and uplifting spirit, capped by a closing theme of great majesty.” (PSO program notes)
Brahms’ contribution to the concert is his magnificent Horn Trio. Laurie Kennedy notes: “It is an expansive and ebullient romantic masterwork. Brahms loved the French horn and used it prominently in all his symphonies. Here, the horn takes center stage, as an equal with the piano and violin. This is rare occasion to hear this intimate work played by musicians – Swensen, Eisen, and Funahashi – who have a special rapport through a long-time musical association.”
Admission for this concert (at the door, with no advance ticket sales) is $12 for adults, and free for children 16 & under. The concert is being sponsored by the Arts Institute of Western Maine, an affiliate of the University of Maine at Farmington. For more information: 645-2157.
