Sonata Series #4: Storms and Tears

Our fourth Sonata Series concert of the season is coming up this Thursday February 18th.  We are looking forward to another cozy hour spent listening to pieces by Benjamin Britten and Ludwig van Beethoven in RISD Museum’s Grand Gallery.

Viola Fellow Hannah Ross will perform Lachrymae: Reflections on a Song of Dowland, op. 48 by Benjamin Britten.  This haunting work (literally translated as “Tears”) was composed for violist William Primrose in the year 1950, but it takes its theme from a melody written approximately 300 years prior, a melody by notoriously melancholy English Renaissance composer John Dowland.  Interestingly, for a piece that is essentially a theme and variations, the theme does not appear until the end.

Violin Fellow Kate Outterbridge will perform Beethoven’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 7. The Sonata is in the key of C minor, a key Beethoven is famous for popularizing perhaps most famously in his Fifth Symphony and “Pathetique” Piano Sonata.  This sonata is appropriately stormy, and Kate remarks, “I love how turbulent and gutsy the piece is!  It is really fun to play!”

Both Hannah and Kate will perform with pianist Ben Nacar.

Sonata Series Event
Thursday February 18th, 7:00pm
RISD Museum Grand Gallery
Admission to the museum and concert is free