Farrenc, Schickele, Strauss

Program Notes

Trio No. 3 in E-Flat Major for Clarinet, Cello and Piano, Op.44" by Louise Farrenc 

As an ensemble of women, Orion is especially pleased to perform this piece by Farrenc, one of few women of her era to devote her entire life to music. While still a teenager, she received recognition as a pianist and began composing in her early 20s. She also worked as a music educator at the Paris Conservatory and as a musicologist, helping produce a 23-volume keyboard anthology of piano music covering three centuries. The three movements of the Trio highlight Farrenc's skill in showcasing the colors and virtuosity of the three instruments and reveal a well-proportioned sonata form with long, flowing lines and harmonies reminiscent of Schubert.

"Quartet for Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano" (1982) by Peter Schickele

Peter Schickele (b. 1929) is perhaps best known as PDQ Bach, "the last and least of the sons of J.S. Bach." He also has hosted a radio show (Schickele Mix) and composed music for TV and films, as well as "serious" music for orchestra, choir, soloists and chamber groups. This "serious" quartet, dedicated to Schickele's father, features a flowing opening, a driving jazzy Scherzo, a chorale-like Elegy and an exuberant finale with a section marked, "pirate music-get your back into it."

"Quartet in C Minor for Violin, Viola, Cello and Piano, Op. 13" (1884) by Richard Strauss

This four-movement work by the late Romantic German composer (perhaps written in response to Brahms' piano quartets in C minor and G minor) is lush, passionate and virtuosic.