Season 3, 2010-2011
Friday, October 22, 2010, 7:00pm
"With a Song in our Hearts": Angelynne Hinson, soprano and Melinda McMahon, mezzo-soprano
'Shepherd on the Rock', Franz Schubert
Angelynne Hinson, soprano
Mary Towse-Beck, piano
Karen Luttik, clarinet
'Shepherd on the Rock' was composed by Schubert in the last months of his life and published a year and a half after his death (Schubert died when he was only 31). This tender and eloquent Lied (song) depicts a
lonely shepherd listening to the echoes rising up from the bottom of his mountain top. He then expresses his intense grief in his loneliness, but ends in anticipation of the coming of spring and its hope of rebirth.
Two Songs, Opus 91, for Alto, viola (or violoncello) and piano, Johannes Brahms
Gestillte Sehnsucht (Satisfied Longing)
Geistliches Wiegenlied (Spiritual Lullaby)
Melinda McMahon, mezzo-soprano
Mary Towse-Beck, piano
Dorothy Braker, cello
Urlicht from Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection", Gustav Mahler, transcription for mezzo-soprano and piano
Melinda McMahon, mezzo-soprano
Mary Towse-Beck, piano
and other selections from the duo, Sirens' Song
Friday, November 19, 2010, 7:00pm
Violoncello and Piano duo, Beth Pearson, violoncello and Paul Dykstra, piano
Paul Dykstra and Beth Pearson, a talented duo that first performed together October 2008 right here on the
Aliento Chamber Players series, that have been performing and recording together ever since.
Polonaise Brilliante, Opus 3 . . . . . . . . Frederic Chopin
Sonata, 'Arpeggione' D. 821 . . . . . . . . Franz Schubert
Sonata, F major Opus 5. . . . . . . . . . . . Ludwig Van Beethoven
5 pieces for cello and piano . . . . . . . . Manuel de Falla
Friday, February 18, 2011, 7:00pm
Sacred and Profane
Quartet No. 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dmitri Shostakovich
Piano Quintet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Johannes Brahms
Strong and beautiful, these compositions are among the strongest of the chamber repertoire. The Brahms Piano Quintet
went through many transformations as Brahms was composing it, to find the right combination of instruments. The result was a piano quintet that has become
the cornerstone of the literature; a "sacred" composition held in the highest regard.
The Quartet No. 8 by Shostakovich, written in just 3 days after his health had deteriorated and he had reluctantly joined the Communist Party,
is a heavily autobiographical work that the composer dedicated "to the victims of fascism and war". This quartet bristles with tension, fear, anger and despair. His good friend Lev Lebedinsky has stated that the composer felt
the quartet to be his epitaph. Listen for the "D-S-C-H" pattern of notes which was the Dmitri Shostakovich signature. Listen for the terrible knock at the door...
Mary Towse-Beck, piano; Alexander Romanul, violin; Adele Ohki, violin; Jill Fratianne, viola; Dorothy Braker, cello.
Friday, March 18, 2011, 7:00pm
The Impressionists
Performing beautiful and evocative music by Debussy, Ravel, Griffes, Albeniz and others, pianist
Mary Towse-Beck will create an atmosphere that will enthrall
the ears and the eyes. Paintings by Monet, Renoir, Degas and other masters will be shown as the
music is played. Short readings by symbolist poets such as Baudelaire and Verlaine will be read
between musical selections. This will truly be a unique experience, one that will engage all of the
senses.
Season 2008/2009
Season 2009/2010
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