3rd Chamber Concert
Camille Saint-Saëns: Fantaisie op. 124 for Violin and Harp / Jake Heggie: »The Work at Hand« for Mezzo-soprano, Cello and Piano / Anton Arensky: Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor op. 32
Alter Saal
Chamber music from France, the US and Russia: In 1907, aged 72, Saint-Saëns composed his Fantasy for harp and violin. It would become the second of three major pieces he composed for harp. The Fantasy is a virtuoso piece for both instruments, while the use of a harp instead of the more typical piano gives the instrumental duet a special, magical sonority.
Commissioned by Carnegie Hall and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Jake Heggie’s (*1961) »The Work at Hand« is premiered in 2015. The Guardian writes: »Heggie’s style is melodic and immediate, now a touch of blues and scat, now exultant and climactic.« The piece sets poems by US poet Laura Morefield to music. Anton Arensky’s (1861-1906) works for chamber music, in particular, show that the Russian composer is at the height of his creative abilities.
Uncontested masterpieces, his two trios for piano are characterised by a lively zeal, a melodic inventiveness and a sophisticated humour and show they are on a par with compositions by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms for these instruments.