CATGUT TRIO CONCERT - March 9, 2009 - 7:30 p.m. (click for more info)

Plan to attend the fourth concert of the "Catgut Mondays" series on March 9, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. The trio will begin the concert with Sergei Ivanovich Taneyev's mighty String Trio in E flat Major, opus 31. "He is the greatest master of counterpoint in Russia; I am not even sure there is his equal in the West." This remark was made by Tchaikovsky concerning his friend Taneyev. And while he is commonly characterized as a supremely intellectual composer, this string trio abounds with spontaneous lyricism and joy. The second half will include Richard Strauss's Variations on "Das Dirndl ist harb auf mi", written for string trio in 1882, in which we witness the composer in his formative years. The trio will also feature Alessandro Rolla's Trio Concertante in B flat. Rolla (1757-1841) was the director of the Teatro della Scala orchestra and was one of the first virtuosos on the viola. This beautiful work showcases all three instruments equally, giving each virtuoso passages and featuring the viola and cello in their higher registers. Hans Krasa, a wonderful Czech composer with a Jewish background, was interred by the Nazis in the concentration camp called Terezin. He composed a number of pieces during that time, including Tanec (Dance) for string trio. He was later killed at Auschwitz.