Happy New Year (1/8/26)

Gotham Early Music Scene
Quodlibet Winds
Encore! A Musical Second Chance 

Kelsey Burnham ~ flute; Elise Bonhivert ~ clarinet; Aaron Goler ~ bassoon

Trio No. 2 in C Major – Georg Fuchs (1752‒1821)
Allegro
Rondo Allegro  

Trio No. 3 in D minor – André-Frédéric Eler (1764‒1821)
Adagio – Allegro non troppo
Tempo di Menuetto  

Trio in D minor, Op. 32 – Kaspar Kummer (1795‒1870)
Allegro
Andante grazioso
Rondo – Allegro

New year, new series of concerts, new composers to me.

This was an interesting concept. It took string trios from the Classical period, grew them slightly (datewise), and brought them to the cusp of Romanticism. Were there cut and dried changes? No. It was more like era morphing, if that is a real thing.

The first movement of the first work was bright and bubbly. This combination of instruments does bright and bully pretty darn well. I think the clarinet might have been a period instrument, since it was light brown, not the black that I’m used to seeing. The movement opened with a unison three-note phrase, which was used several times to introduce subsequent sections. The second movement was slightly more subdued—but only slightly. The clarinet had a moment to shine, and then it was the bassoon’s turn. It seemed pretty straightforward, and that made sense since it was the earliest of the three pieces. 

After lots of housekeeping (the bassoonist fiddled with his reeds, the clarinetist ran a cleaning cloth through her instrument a couple of times, and the flutist tinkered with and tweaked her instrument), we were on to the second work. The first movement opened with a unison phrase (actually octaves), and it was slower and a little bit spare, compared to the first work. It got quicker, but just, and was serious without being somber. Still, there was some fancy fingering going on which led to an interesting ending. The second movement was more cheerful even though it was in a minor key. It was nice, and just as I was thinking it was running a little bit long, it ended. 

After more housekeeping, the first movement of the third work had a brief, unison opening again. It was a fairly calm Allegro, though fancy fingering was also featured. It seemed to be a brighter D minor than the previous piece. In terms of leading us to the Romantic, the movements were getting a little longer and a little more sophisticated. The clarinet was featured at the opening of the second movement—a combination of a sedate graceful followed by a graceful that was quicker. Oops, I spoke too soon as this movement was very brief. The third movement was a moderate Allegro with some increased intricacies followed by a relaxed second section though fancy fingering figured in, as well. 

All in all, while I originally thought that the pieces would be too similar when I looked at the program, the journey from Classical to Romantic disabused me of that notion. A good way to start off a new year of concertgoing. 

ConcertMeister