Willy Sucre and Friends play Piano Quartets

Violist Willy Sucre will be joined by

violinist Mark Rush,

cellist James Holland,
and pianist to be announced soon.

 The program should include:

Piano Quartet

by Joaquín Turina

Joaquín Turina Pérez was born in Sevilla, Spain, on December 9, 1882, into a comfortable middle-class family. Turina grew up in an artistic environment and at the age of four was given an accordion, which he learned to play quickly and with skill. In 1894 he began his formal studies of harmony, theory, and counterpoint. Almost immediately he began to compose small pieces. His performance debut on March 14, 1897, set him on the road to become a full-fledged performer. In 1902 he moved to Madrid, where he met Manuel de Falla and was further influenced by the prevailing currents of musical nationalism. He quickly became involved in the musical scene there and saw the premier of his Zarzuela, "La sulamita." In 1905 he, like most other Spanish composers of the time, went to Paris. He studied piano with Moszkowsky and theory under Vicent d’Indy in the Schola Cantorum and became good friends with Albeniz, who encouraged him to find inspiration in the popular music of Spain and Andalucía. After returning to Madrid in 1914, he divided his time between composing, teaching, and performing, in spite of the difficulties he and many others of his background encountered during the days of the republic. Turina died on January 14, 1949, in Madrid.

Notes adapted from Mac McClure's website.

I N T E R M IS S I O N 

~<^>~

by Robert Schumann

I.  Sostenuto assai; Allegro ma non troppo

 II. Scherzo: Molto vivace

 III. Andante cantabile

IV. Finale: Vivace

Schumann was born in Zwickau, Germany on June 8, 1810 and died  on July 29, 1856 in Endenich, Germany.  He began writing this quartet at the end of October 1842 for Count Matvei Wielhorsky, an amateur but very accomplished cellist, judging from the difficulty of the cello part and its prominence throughout. The quartet may be said to look back to the eighteenth century practice of dedicating music to aristocrats for their use and in the hope of receiving money or a gift in appreciation. But in most other ways, this piano quartet is a product of the nineteenth century; it is a lush, Romantic, impassioned work, fully committed to the expression of the composer’s most intimate thoughts and feelings.  He completed writing the piece in a couple of weeks, bringing to a close his amazing burst of chamber music activity that started in June of that same year. It’s well-received premiere was given in Leipzig on December 8, 1844, by Ferdinand David  on violin, Niels W. Gade on viola, Count Wielhorsky on cello, and Clara Schumann on piano.

Notes adapted from Melvin Berger's Guide to Chamber Music.

Time, date, and program subject to change.