String Trios Plus!

James Matheson - Quartet for Oboe and String Trio (2008)

(Rochester premiere)

Jean Francaix - String Trio (1933)

Juliana Athayde violin

Melissa Matson viola

John Haines-Eitzen cello

with Erik Behr oboe

Join us for a thrilling evening of music performed by this vibrant trio of string players: RPO concertmaster Juliana Athayde and principal violist Melissa Matson share the stage once again with Cornell University Artist Faculty cellist John Haines-Eitzen! In this program, the grandeur of Beethoven's Trio in c minor (Opus 9 No. 3) is balanced by the absolutely delightful trio of French neo-classical composer Jean Francaix (1912-1997).

Oboist Erik Behr joins the trio in the Rochester premiere of James Matheson's Quartet for Oboe and String Trio (2008). The composer makes these comments about this work:

The musical ideas of my Oboe Quartet are generated largely from a question that arose as I began working with this fundamentally odd instrumentation: how do I write for three string instruments that are roughly homogenous, and the oboe, which has a totally different character? So, the piece begins with the instruments in unison, with different instruments gradually splintering off. The rest of the piece explores a variety of ideas, textures and expressive modes that highlight the uniqueness of this strange but also strangely beautiful combination.

$10 general / $5 student / $20 family