Musical works often strive for the heights of beauty and mysticism, while their composers and performers must confront the joys and pains of remaining earthbound. Three works on this program capture the duality of great musical expressions, from the ardor and humanity of Schumann’s great Liederkreis song cycle, through Britten’s Phantasy Quartet, to Mendelssohn’s inspired Octet for Strings, which seems almost heaven-sent in its sheer perfection from one still so young.
| Schumann |
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Liederkreis (Eichendorff Song Cycle), op.39 |
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Kevin McMillan (bass), Gabriel Dobner (piano)
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| Britten |
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Phantasy Quartet |
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| Mendelssohn |
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String Octet in E flat, op.20 |
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Minna Pensola, Anna Gebert, Antti Tikkanen, Diane Pascal (violin), Vladimir Mendelssohn, Amadi Azikiwe (viola), Carl Donakowski, James Wilson (cello) |
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