MUSIC

Beethoven Variations for Cello and Piano on "See the conqu'ring hero comes" from Handel's Judas
Maccabaeus, WoO 45
Brahms Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114
Bach Trio Sonata from The Musical Offering, BWV 1079
Schoenberg Chamber Symphony in E major, Op. 9, arr. by A. Webern Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano

Lorna McGhee, flute Alexander Fiterstein, clarinet
Harumi Rhodes, violin Peter Stumpf, cello Randall Hodgkinson, piano

Beethoven, the master of theme and variations, takes this theme from Handel’s oratorio Judas Maccabaeus. The long lines of development across variations and dialog between the cello and piano bring a dramatic flare befitting the story from which the theme comes. A favorite of Brahms’ himself, the Clarinet Trio exploits the lyrical and technical possibilities of the clarinet through the timbre of the minor modes. Based on a single theme composed by Frederick the Great, a flutist, Bach’s four-movement Trio Sonata, written for flute, violin, and basso continuo demonstrates Bach’s unsurpassed contrapuntal skill. Schoenberg’s Chamber Symphony is a neo-classical approach in musical conception. Schoenberg employed the different colors to link the strands of his intricate contrapuntal lines. To make performances of this work more practical, Webern’s made an arrangement for a smaller body of instruments.