Pre-Concert Chamber Performance

From the venue:

Join us for this free pre-concert chamber performance featuring musicians of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

This program, curated by Music Director Laureate Robert Spano, explores the deep emotional range and technical brilliance of the chamber music repertoire. The performance opens with the autumnal warmth of Brahms' Clarinet Trio in A Minor, where Jesse McCandless' lyrical phrasing intertwines with Ray Kim's rich cello lines to capture the composer's late-period introspection. The energy shifts toward high Romantic drama with Mendelssohn's Piano Trio No. 1, a work defined by its restless urgency and soaring melodies, brought to life here by the formidable trio of David Coucheron, Danny Laufer, and Robert Spano. The program concludes with Poulenc's Sonata for Flute and Piano, showcasing Christina Smith's virtuosic versatility as she navigates the work's signature "melancholy joy" – moving seamlessly from the hauntingly beautiful Cantilena to the sparkling, wit-filled finale.

Program

Johannes Brahms: Clarinet Trio in A Minor, op. 114
      I. Allegro
            Jesse McCandless, clarinet
            Ray Kim, cello
            Robert Spano, piano

Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, op. 49
      I. Molto Allegro agitato
            David Coucheron, violin
            Daniel Laufer, cello
            Robert Spano, piano

Francis Poulenc: Sonata for Flute and Piano
      I. Allegro malinconico
      II. Cantilena: Assez lent
      III. Presto giocoso
            Christina Smith, flute
            Robert Spano, piano