Tour program

The Allied folks asked us to choose a program for the tour that would appeal to all sorts of audiences - even people who hadn't heard much classical music. We came up with a program that showcases many different styles of music including some pieces that are not heard very often on the classical circuit. When we play a piece like Beethoven's "Ghost" trio, a classical music buff will come in with expectations about how the piece goes and what they like about it. But when we play a piece by Vitezslav Novak, everyone in the audience is in the same shoes - discovering the music for the first time.

So, we start out with Novak's Trio quasi una ballata which means a trio that is like a ballade. As with poems or songs called ballades, this piece takes us on a journey through many different moods, though it is cyclical with material that recurs like a refrain.

Then we play Three Nocturnes by Ernest Bloch. These are beautiful character pieces that depict the night in three distinct ways. The first is atmospheric, suggesting moonlight. The second is like a lullaby. And the third is more rhythmic and sinister, perhaps reflecting the more sneaky things that occur at night.

We close the first half with Paul Schoenfield's Cafe Music , a really fun piece written in 1985. This piece gives us the chance to play in many different styles including jazz, ragtime, and blues.

After intermission we play Mendelssohn's Trio #2 in C minor, one of my favorite pieces, and one of the pieces on our first cd. In the last movement of this trio, Mendelssohn quotes the beginning of a Bach chorale (Mendelssohn loved Bach's music and helped revive interest in performances of his music). Each time we come to the end of this particular piece, I get a thrill once again at being able to perform such great music.