This preview has been provided by the Mallarmé Chamber Players.

The Mallarmé Chamber Players will present the first of a five-part concert series, “Undressing Beethoven,” by violinist Nicholas DiEugenio and pianist Mimi Solomon. For their series, the duo is commissioning five works to be performed in conjunction with a cycle of Beethoven Violin Sonatas over the 2015-16 season.

Undressing Beethoven – Beyond the Canon: LEATHER, will be held on Saturday, March 12 at 3:00 p.m. at the home of Jason Thomas and Edith Gettes in Chapel Hill. The program will include Beethoven Violin Sonata in A Minor No. 4, Op. 23 and Sonata in A Major No. 9, Op. 47 “Kreutzer.” DiEugenio and Soloman will also premiere David Garner’s “The Sky was Good for Flying,” for violin and piano.

“As part of an ongoing, lifelong engagement with the Beethoven Violin Sonatas, I think a lot about how we hear these works, and the things we notice – not just on repeated hearings, but also with 21st century ears and sensibilities,” says DiEugenio. Written a year after his Frist Symphony, Beethoven’s Sonata No. 4 in A Minor was different from the first three and was received favorably by critics in 1801. Written in 1803, Sonata No. 9 in A Major was dedicated to Rodolphe Kreutzer, the finest violinist at the time. Longer than his previous sonatas, Beethoven implied that this emotional and demanding work should be played in the style of a concerto. DiEugenio says, “Putting myself in the shoes of a composer today, I imagine that considering these ‘classic,’ canonic works is necessary, inspiring, and also difficult.”

David Garner’s “The Sky Was Good for Flying,” draws on a harmonic material and a melody from the first movement of the “Kreutzer” Sonata. Written for DiEugenio and Solomon, Garner chose the title from a poem entitled “Sunlight on the Garden” by Louis MacNeice. Garner’s work has a weightless, lofty feel, and evokes much of the same sentiments from this poem including nostalgia, loss and beauty.

DiEugenio and Solomon are approaching the ten Beethoven Sonatas as a whole, along with new works by composers Allen Anderson, David Garner, Robert Honstein, Jesse Jones and Tonia Ko to respond to these seminal works. The project will culminate from March 7-21st in several five-concert cycles in the Triangle, Ithaca, NY, and Pennsylvania State University. The husband and wife duo will also record the full sonata cycle along with the five new works for violin, piano and optional electronics.

 

UNDRESSING BEETHOVEN – BEYOND THE CANNON: LEATHER

Saturday, March 12, 3:00 p.m.
The Home of Jason Thomas and Edith Gettes in Chapel Hill
Address will be shared upon ticket purchase
Nicholas DiEugenio – violin | Mimi Solomon – piano | David Garner – composer
$20 in advance | $5 students
Tickets available online or by telephone. Seating is limited.
mallarmemusic.org | 919/560-2788

PROGRAM
Ludwig van Beethoven – Violin Sonata No. 4, Op. 23 in A Minor

Ludwig van Beethoven – Violin Sonata No. 9, Op. 47 in A Major “Kreutzer”

David Garner – “The Sky Was Good for Flying”

 

ABOUT MALLARMÉ CHAMBER PLAYERS

The Mallarmé Chamber Players are a flexible ensemble of professional musicians based in Durham, North Carolina, whose mission is to enrich the lives of their community through outstanding chamber music. The ensemble distinguishes itself by its innovative educational programs, its commitment to creative collaboration with other organizations, its creation of significant new work, and its dedication to serve a diverse population.

Mallarmé annually presents a series of concerts that features great, diverse, and multidisciplinary chamber music. Mallarmé performs everything from Baroque music on period instruments to newly commissioned works. In 2010, Mallarmé released, to great acclaim, a cd on Albany/Videmus records of chamber music by African American composers. Recent commissions include works by William Banfield and Stephen Jaffe.

Mallarmé is a non-profit, tax-exempt, 501(c) 3 organization. The 2015-16 concert season is made possible in part by grants from the Durham Arts Council’s Annual Arts Fund and the North Carolina Arts Council.