
Laurie Smukler, violin and Robert McDonald, piano
The all-Bartok program includes the First Rhapsody, and both the Violin and Piano Sonatas; no. 1 and no. 2. Hearing both these sonatas in one program is a wonderful experience – delving deeply into the wonderful, original, and evocative writing Bartok did for violin and piano.
Adults $35 / Students $8, prices include all fees.
The program: Rhapsody No.1 for Violin and Piano (1928)
Prima Parte (“Lasso”) Slow
Seconda Parte (“Friss”) Lively Deuxieme Sonata for Violin and Piano (1922)
Molto Moderato
Allegretto
INTERMISSION
Premiere Sonata for Violin and Piano (1921)
Allegra Appassionato
Adagio
Allegro
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Sample this program! This is the Rhapsody n°1 for violin and piano composed by Bartok in 1928.
Josef Szigeti: Violin/Béla Bartok: Piano
Our Feb. 7 concert will feature the violin/piano works of Béla Bartók, performed by two leading American musicians. Laurie Smukler, now teaching at The Juilliard School, and the Manhattan, Mannes and Bard Conservatories, is a highly sought-after teacher whose playing is known for its emotional intensity and lush tone. Each summer she performs and teaches at Kneisel Hall in Blue Hill, Maine.
The two dynamic musicians have something special in store on Feb. 7 when they will perform both Bartók Violin and Piano Sonatas of 1921 and 1922 plus the First Rhapsody, composed in 1928. While considered modern by today’s audiences, many of Bartók’s works are now nearly a century old. Our performers will help demystify the sounds, intensity and unique ‘Bartókian’ language during the Minsky concert by providing helpful guidance on how to listen to this music. The background to Bartók’s works includes many folk tunes he recorded in numerous country villages throughout largely Hungarian, Romanian and Slovakian regions. When incorporating these tunes into his compositions, Bartók colored them with original qualities of percussive harmonies and repetitive rhythmic motives, often using pentatonic or irregular scales, creating a palette ranging from coloristic effects to a storm of crashing sounds.
Some teachers note the advantages of studying or listening to many works by the same composer in order to hear and better understand the composer’s vocabulary. We will have this opportunity at the February 7th concert and could ask for no finer performers than Laurie Smuckler and Robert McDonald.
~Patricia Stowell, Chair, Chamber Music Society steering committee