The concert opens with Antonin Dvo?ák’s Cavatina and Capriccio for two violins and viola which set the stage for the drama to come. The Cavatina, a sweet, tender song, is an expression of thoughtful love. The Capriccio is a spirited care-free expression of the joy of being alive.

The mood darkens with the next piece, Leoš Janá?ek’s String Quartet No. 1, Kreutzer Sonata, which is based on Leo Tolstoy’s novella of the same name. In Tolstoy’s tale, an idyllic family life is interrupted when a jealous husband, influenced by the passion of Beethoven’s “Kreutzer” Sonata for Violin and Piano, is driven to murder his wife because he suspects that she is in love with the violinist with whom she is performing.

Janá?ek’s Quartet tells the story with music that alternates between idyllic and charming, and brooding, jittery and tense, and finally climbs to a turbulent finish.

After the grisly tale has been told, the audience will have an opportunity to hear and feel the full passion of the movement of that Beethoven sonata which caused all the trouble. It will be passionately performed by violinist Elsa Brown from the Deutsche Symphonie in Berlin, and pianist Mihae Lee of the Boston Chamber Music Society.

The final half of the concert is devoted to Dvo?ák’s monumental Piano Trio in F Minor, Op.65. In this work Dvo?ák expresses his fierce nationalism by combining Czech folk-like themes with the more structured European style. The result is a powerful Romantic piece with tension, resolution, and haunting melody.

For more information, visit www.sebagomusicfestival.org or call 207-583-6747. Tickets for the concerts at Deertrees are $25. Tickets for anyone 21 and under are free.

Copy the Story Link

Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

filed under: