Clarinetist Anthony McGill and pianist Gloria Chien reunite to perform Brahms’ dramatic Clarinet Sonatas No. 1 in F Minor and No. 2 in E-flat Major. After a transformative performance by clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld in 1890, Brahms broke his self-imposed retirement and composed these sonatas, along with other clarinet works, dedicated to the virtuoso.

Epitomizing Brahms’ “late style,” the sonatas offer a striking “chiaroscuro,” with the dark, passionate first sonata contrasting the second’s light-filled lyricism. Our own virtuosos McGill and Chien bring these works to life, exploring the intense dialogue between the two instruments in music that spans from songful to symphonic.

5:45 PM | Pregame with Bob

6:30 PM | Concert

Anthony McGill, clarinet

Gloria Chien, piano

BRAHMS Clarinet Sonata No.1 in F minor

BRAHMS Clarinet Sonata No. 2 in Eb Major

Support for this concert was generously provided by the Tennessee Arts Commission.

Soprano Susanna Phillips, violist Paul Neubauer, and pianist Anne-Marie McDermott bring fresh vibrancy to salon songs. Performing together as the SPA Trio since 2011, these celebrated artists have embraced the charm and nostalgia of 19th- and 20th-century parlor songs, continuing a storied tradition once favored by some of the great singers of the past.

The program opens with a dramatic arrangement of Mendelssohn’s Infelice, a rare example of his venture into operatic and Italianate styles. Casadesus’s Romance Provençale and Danse explore charming dialogues between the viola and piano, which contrasts Wagner’s haunting Wesendonck Lieder, inspired by poems from his muse and lover, Mathilde Wesendonck. Schumann’s Abegg Variations follows – a graceful set based on a theme that spells the name of a fictitious friend. The program concludes with songs by Amy Beach and George Gershwin – Beach with romantic lyricism, and Gershwin with timeless, jazz-infused swing.

5:45 PM | Pregame with Bob

6:30 PM | Concert

SPA Trio

Susanna Phillips, soprano

Paul Neubauer, viola

Anne-Marie McDermott, piano

MENDELSSOHN Infelice Concert Aria, Op. 94 for voice, viola and piano

FRANCIS CASADESUS Romance Provençale and Danse for viola and piano

WAGNER Wesendonck Lieder for voice, viola and piano, WWV 91

SCHUMANN Abegg Variations for solo piano, Op. 1

AMY BEACH Chanson d’Amour, Op. 21, No. 1

Ecstasy, Op. 19, No. 2

The Year’s at the Spring, Op. 44, No. 1

GERSHWIN Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off

A Foggy Day/Love Walked In

Our Love Is Here to Stay

This concert is generously sponsored by Barnett & Company.

Brahms and Bloch offer two striking visions of introspection and cultural identity in this richly expressive program featuring violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky, violist Milena Pajaro Van de Stadt, cellist Gary Hoffman, and pianist Gloria Chien.

Brahms’s Piano Quartet No. 2 in A Major stands among his most expansive chamber works. Opening with a large-scale first movement often likened to a quasi-piano concerto, rich harmonies drive the inner movements toward a finale bursting with Hungarian folk rhythms.

In contrast, Bloch’s From Jewish Life, for cello and piano, explores the intimate and meditative voice of the cello. Drawing on cantorial traditions and modal harmonies, it captures the spiritual and emotional depth of Jewish expression in three brief, evocative movements.

5:45 PM | Pregame with Bob

6:30 PM | Concert

Alexander Sitkovetsky, violin

Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola

Gary Hoffman, cello

Gloria Chien, piano

BLOCH From Jewish Life

BRAHMS Piano Quartet No. 2 in A Major

Support for this concert was generously provided by HK Architects.

Our series finale will be a celebration of strings, bringing together eight masterful performers for a program that highlights the range, intimacy, and power of chamber music for strings.

The program opens with Shostakovich’s Two Pieces for String Octet, written when the composer was just 18. Sharp-edged and intense, these early works already reveal the emotional volatility and formal daring that would define his later music.

Dvořák’s Terzetto offers a contrast in scale and tone. Scored for two violins and viola, it was originally intended for informal “musicking” at home – but its technical demands quickly outpaced its amateur-level origins. The piece blends intimacy with vivid melodic invention, showcasing Dvořák’s flair for turning modest forms into richly expressive music.

After intermission, all eight musicians join forces for Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat Major, a work of astonishing brilliance and youthful exuberance. Written at age sixteen, the Octet merges symphonic scope with chamber precision, ending in a dazzling fugue that brings the evening to a dramatic close.

5:45 PM | Pregame with Bob

6:30 PM | Concert

Benjamin Beilman, violin

Erin Keefe, violin

Alexi Kenney, violin

Arnaud Sussman, violin

Misha Amory, viola

Nicholas Cords, viola

Nina Lee, cello

Edward Arron, cello

SHOSTAKOVICH Two Pieces for String Octet

DVORAK Terzetto

MENDELSSOHN Octet in E-flat Major

Support for this concert was generously provided by the William K. Montague, Jr. Performing Arts Fund.