2024 Summerfest Series: Week Two (July 13-14)

Week Two: Richly Romantic - Vaughan Williams and more
Saturday, July 13 | 7:30pm | White Recital Hall, UMKC
Sunday, July 14 | 3:00pm | St. Mary's Episcopal Church, KCMO

For the second week, we continue exploring time and how it reshapes our memories. When Max Bruch wrote his Eight Pieces, op. 83, he had not composed chamber music in over four decades. He was lured back to chamber music by his son, a respected clarinet player, and ended up writing pieces that will remind you of late Brahms, nostalgically looking back while wearing a maturity in their construction. Grazyna Bacewicz’s Trio for Oboe, Violin and Cello similarly embraces older musical styles in a modern setting but has the additional flavor of her native Poland. Finally, Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Piano Quintet in C Minor disappeared to history in 1918 after the composer pulled it from his catalog. An early work for the English composer, the Piano Quintet would have been lost to time except for his widow allowing a performance in 1999. The piece quickly found its place in chamber music concerts, and we know you’ll enjoy hearing it this summer.