Two principal players of the New York Philharmonic join Bravo! Vail Artistic Director Anne-Marie McDermott for an evening of chamber music, or as Mozart called it, “music of friends.” Appropriately enough for a soirée, the finale to Beethoven’s lighthearted trio features a theme-and-variations finale on a popular tune of the time, Pria ch’io l’impegno (“Before beginning this awesome task, I need a snack”). Having enjoyed an illustrious career, Brahms declared it finished: “I have worked enough; now let the young folks take over.” In early 1891, however, he encountered the clarinet playing of Richard Mühlfeld and was inspired to compose once again, writing four final chamber works, all featuring the clarinet. This trio is perhaps less well known than others (notably the beloved Clarinet Quintet) but is nonetheless a masterpiece of thematic variation, lyrical invention, and elegance.
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