Beethoven, Child, Mendelssohn

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN String Trio No. 3 in D major, Op. 9, No. 2 (1798)
Alyssa Wang, violin; Marcus Thompson, viola; Raman Ramakrishnan, cello

Peter Child  New work for oboe, viola, and piano (2024 BCMS commission)
Peggy Pearson, oboe; Marcus Thompson, viola; Max Levinson, piano

Felix MENDELSSOHN  Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49 (1839)
Alyssa Wang, violin; Raman Ramakrishnan, cello; Max Levinson, piano

Featured musicians

Beethoven’s String Trio No. 3  in D major opens slowly with a warm, lush sound before the violin takes the lead, guiding the ensemble towards an energetic second theme. Following a stately minor mode Andante, the violin shines again with quick flourishes of notes in the Minuet, while the cello introduces the lively theme of the Rondo finale. 

This season we welcome a new commission for oboe, viola and piano by acclaimed Boston composer Peter Child, whom the Boston Musical Intelligencer has praised as “one of the most interesting and heartily youthful composers anywhere in America today.”  Child, who has composed for every concert music genre, is known for his breadth of musical vocabulary.

Proclaimed by Schumann to be the “master trio of the age,” Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor simmers with passionate emotions masterfully contained in classical forms. Tumult and agitation reign through much of the work, delivered with sparkling virtuosity by each player. Respite comes in the tender second movement, a “song without words.”