Evento

Santa Cruz Chamber Players Concert 1

Music of Hungarian Virtuosi - Music by Liszt, Bartok and Dohnanyi

Roy Malan, artistic director and violin
Susan Freier, violin; Polly Malan, viola; Stephen Harrison, cello; Paul Miller, clarinet; Ian Scarfe, piano

This concert presents examples of the "Magyar temperament" at its best, from the hands of three legendary master composers who were also virtuoso pianists.

Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies are as well-known as his staggering virtuosity. The piano trio version of his ninth rhapsody displays all the orchestral colors and sonority of the original.

Bartok's Contrasts, written for Benny Goodman and Joseph Szigeti can be heard on an historical recording which the three of them made early in the last century. This music shimmers with Bartok's characteristic intensity and pathos.

When the eighteen-year-old Dohnanyi penned his famous Piano Quintet, Opus 1, No. 1, it was clearly in homage to his idol, Johannes Brahms, but also served as a showcase for the young pianist's equally brilliant pianism. Brahms himself was delighted with it, and it remains a powerful showcase for talented pianists and a favorite of chamber musicians all over the world.