Concert 4 (canceled)

Program Notes

Mozart composed his Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K. 581, in 1789 for clarinetist Anton Stadler (1753-1812), one of the first true virtuosos of this newer instrument. This work features the autumnal tranquilities that would resound in Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, which he composed just two years later. Of special interest is the third movement minuet featuring two trio sections: the first a highly expressive episode for strings, and the second, for the clarinet, drawing upon mixtures of rustic elegance.

For most audiences, Borodin is synonymous with the Polovtsian Dances. He composed the String Quartet No. 2 in D Major in 1891, dedicating the work to his wife as a 20th anniversary present. The third movement Nocturne is perhaps the work's most famous section.

Schumann's Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 44, is the largest-scale piece on the program and has been hailed as a masterpiece of Romantic-era chamber music. A piano concerto in miniature, this work displays Schumann at his lyrical and passionate best. Every movement is large in scope, yet personalized in expression. The arresting main theme of the first movement and the triumphant ascending passages of the third movement are among Schumann's most unforgettable passages, complemented by the haunting second movement and glorious counterpoint of the finale.