The Concordia String Trio will present a Guest Artist concert on Sunday, February 7, at 3 p.m. in the Dingeldine Music Center, located at 1417 W. Barker Avenue in Peoria. Admission is free.
The trio members are Marcia Henry Liebenow, violinist, Concertmaster of the Peoria
Symphony Orchestra and faculty member at Bradley University; Leslie Perna, violist, faculty member at the University of Missouri-Columbia and violist of the Esterhazy Quartet; and cellist Karen Becker from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, who also serves as principal cellist of the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra.
The Concordia String Trio explores and expands the eclectic repertoire of an under-appreciated genre - the string trio. Dedicated to discovering and performing lesser-known gems of chamber music, they will present three unique trios on this program by composers Julius Zellner, John Harbison, and Richard von Perger.
String Trio in C minor, Op. 36 is a well-crafted Romantic era composition by Viennese composer Julius Zellner (1832-1900). He was awarded prestigious prizes in 1887 and 1889, earning the respect of Johannes Brahms. Zellner’s music was highly regarded during the last two decades of the 19th century and up to the First World War. Yet today, his name and his music have all but disappeared, along with many other fine composers whose music was unfairly shoved in oblivion in the reaction against all things from the Romantic era after World War I.
Pulitzer prize winning American composer John Harbison is the composer of the Trio Sonata, a work consisting of four short movements. Harbison is also the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship.
Richard von Perger wrote his String Trio, Op. 12 in 1888. Born in Graz, he studied composition in Vienna with Brahms, whose influence can be felt in his music. Perger’s career was divided between composing, conducting and teaching. He served as director of the Rotterdam Conservatory and later the Vienna Conservatory. He wrote in most genres and his chamber music, in particular, was held in high regard.
In addition to their February 7 performance at Bradley University, the Concordia String Trio will present concerts throughout the Midwest, including in St. Louis and at Eureka College. This concert marks the 16thanniversary of the Concordia String Trio’s debut in Peoria. Since then the Trio has performed recitals, educational programs, and given lecture/demonstrations throughout the Midwest, in Boston, Vermont, California, Texas, and Utah. They were featured on WTVP in a program titled “Marcia and Friends” as part of the PSO Sound Bites series. The Trio has also been resident ensemble at the Warebrook Contemporary Music Festival, recorded a Capstone CD titled “90’s Timeflow – Chamber Music of Alan Schmitz,” and has plans to record two Viennese String Trios this year on the Centaur Label.
Call 309.677.2602 for more information.
