SMILING THROUGH TEARS:
Violin and Piano Duo Recital
Joshua Peckins, Violin
Eliko Akahori, Piano
Franz Schubert, Fantasie for Violin and Piano in C Major, Op Posth. 159, D 934
Johannes Brahms, Violin Sonata No 1, Op. 78
Jessie Montgomery, Peace
Arnold Schoenberg, Phantasy for Violin and Piano, Op, 47
Myroslav Skoryk, Melody
Barbara Strozzi, Diporti di Euterpe op 7, Lagrime mie 'lamento
Joshua Peckins, violin, and Eliko Akahori, piano, take audiences on a dazzling tour of some of the greatest violin and piano duo repertoire, ranging of masterpieces from the Romantic era, to beauties from the Baroque, to cutting edge modernism and works by living composers.
Schubert’s Fantasie in C Major begins as if in a dream, with murmuring tones in the piano, and a bewitching violin melody emerging from the reverie. From this mysterious beginning, Schubert weaves a fantasy of such imagination and delight, showcasing the full ranges of both instruments and pushing the performers to their limits, both technically and musically. Evocative and highly engaging, Schubert’s Fantasie is a prime example from the early Romantic Era.
It has been said that Brahms music is like “smiling through tears,” and his G Major Sonata certainly fits that description. This work of unsurpassed emotional depth captures in music the very essence of life, the human experience, and the beauty of being alive despite all its pain.
Jessie Montgomery wrote her "Peace" during the early part of the pandemic. Born during that time of isolation, it is a solemn prayer for love, connection, hope, and peace. Deeply calming, it is a balm for weary souls.
Skoryk's "Melody," passionate and evocative, is often called the "spiritual hymn of Ukraine." Composer Myroslav Skoryk passed away recently, in 2020, at age 81, in Kyiv.
Strozzi's "Lamento" is an exquisite example from the Baroque Period, depicting a bereft lover, in such pain that tears will not come, wishing only for the release of death. Though we certainly wish only happiness for our audiences, we are confident you will take pleasure in the beautiful simplicity with which Strozzi captures such intense emotion!
Schoenberg can be divisive - much beloved and revered by music scholars, but sometimes feared by audiences! His “Phantasy” is a perfect introduction to this important composer - a composer who has been compared to Beethoven in his significance and depth. Although one of his later works (composed just before his death), the Phantasy is pure delight and fun! Full of whimsey and spontaneity, this short, imaginative work shows Schoenberg’s playful side!
"Smiling Through Tears" is a search through the thicket of life for those feelings that bind us together and reveal our deepest collective truths. This music rejects the idea that happiness is a trivial emotion, that beauty is only skin-deep, and that a complex lived experience precludes joy.
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