BRAHMS: Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, op. 38
DVOŘÁK: Sonatina in G major, B. 183, op. 100
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MENDELSSOHN: Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor, op. 66
Honored by Minnesota’s Pioneer Press for a “sweet and smooth [sound] that can hypnotize a listener," violinist Arnaud Sussman joins Aspen favorites David Finckel and Wu Han for the season’s first recital.
Opening the program is Brahms’s First Cello Sonata, written for a voice coach and song composer who was also an amateur cellist. A story is told that when the cellist insisted on playing through the piece with Brahms, the composer played the piano part very loudly. When the cellist complained that he couldn’t hear himself, Brahms said, “Lucky you.” Rest assured, this will be a much more balanced and amiable performance!
Next, Sussman and Wu Han join forces for Dvořák’s charming and joyful Sonatina, written during his American sojourn and, in the composer’s words, “intended for youths (dedicated to my two children), but even grown-ups, adults, should be able to converse with it.” The evening concludes with Mendelssohn’s last published chamber work, the Second Piano Trio, a masterpiece full of fire, lyricism, and harmonic surprises.
