FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Dear Music Lover, Our final Salon Concert of the season will bring violinist Elisabeth Kufferath and pianist Stephen Perry back from Germany to play two powerful works. Olivier Messiaen, a pianist himself, wrote his Theme &Variations as a wedding present for his wife, the violinist Claire Delbos. Messiaen's compositional style is always marked by a unique brand of coloristic and formal perfectionism. While this piece bears those characteristics, it also demonstrates a warmth and beauty that seem to have been inspired by Messiaen's love for Claire. While the violin sings glorious melodies, the piano provides a harmonic accompaniment that is rich in sonority and complexity. The language is expressive and emotionally varied. Within a span of just ten minutes, the listener is taken from a tender and melancholy theme to a rhapsodic variation, a dancing variation, a jocular variation, a breathtaking toccata, and finally an ecstatic recapitulation of the original theme. It is a remarkably compact, and completely compelling journey. Beethoven wrote his sonata for Op. 30 No. 2 in 1802, during a period in which the composer was struggling to come to terms with his quickly progressing deafness. While Beethoven's compositional abilities were in no way diminished by his condition, his emotional fortitude was severely tested. The c-minor sonata seems to have been an outlet for Beethoven's anger, frustration and fear. From the very beginning, it is overwhelmingly intense. After intermission, Robert Rudié and Douglas Harvey join Stephen for the Mendelssohn Piano Trio in C minor. In this glorious piece, it would seem as though Mendelssohn was determined to demonstrate that with just three instruments, he could achieve levels of drama and expressivity which equaled or perhaps even surpassed that of his magnificent symphonies and oratorios. This is a program you don't want to miss! Salon Concerts' intimate setting in a beautiful Austin home is the perfect venue for chamber music. Our sumptuous post-concert buffet with fine wines will make this a completely joyful experience for you. I look forward to seeing you there! Best regards, Kathryn Mishell Salon Concerts, Artistic Director