The Best Laid Plans
Trillium had a busy fall season, with concerts at Maryville College on September 22, 2018, and on October 28, 2019 at the First Presbyterian Church as part of the Oak Ridge Coffee Concert series. Both concerts were huge undertakings musically and technically, but were great fun, and very well attended.
We took what we thought would be a short break in the midst of November rehearsals to prepare new music and plan our spring programs. We had it in mind to work with a fine local baritone, and when that didn’t pan out due to the challenges of finding suitable repertoire, we set our sights to another large work for piano and string quartet. Long story, but suffice it to say that key personnel we had hoped could join us were not available, so with neither plan A or plan B in place, we decided - plan C - to repeat some old repertoire that we love for our March 2nd concert at the College, in addition to two new contemporary works.
Thanksgiving and Christmas and family fun kept us apart for a month, and we intended to get back together right after the New Year.
And then I broke my ankle.
Being completely sidelined for the entire month of January and partially handicapped for the first half of February has been challenging personally, let alone trying to prepare for a swiftly approaching concert. But we had made a good start on the two new works, and after some soul searching and tentative steps (down the stairs to my studio!) we decided to forge ahead with the new rep, and instead of resurrecting the old, to let me ease back in to trio life and take a seat in the audience so that Alison and Robert can present to you the epic Kreutzer Sonata of Ludwig van Beethoven.
This monumental sonata was originally composed for a violinist named George Bridgetower, with whom Beethoven had a falling out after the former insulted a woman Beethoven held in high regard. He later dedicated it to Rudolphe Kreutzer, considered to be the finest violinist of his time. Imagine his horror when Kreutzer hated it and refused to play it! He described the work as “unintelligible” and would not even look at it after their first and only meeting!
The piece was later the subject of a novella by Tolstoy and a painting by René François Xavier Prinet.
We will bookend the Kreutzer with a hauntingly beautiful piece called Columbine, by American composer and pianist William Buelow. Dedicated to the victims of the first mass school shooting in our history, we felt moved to perform it in these troubled times. We’ll finish the program with the rollicking lighthearted Trio No. 2 by Ohio composer Rick Sowash. It’s two movements are titled Orientale and Galop, and it’s loads of fun to play. We hope you will find it so as well!
