{"id":8115,"date":"2025-03-03T23:32:21","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T04:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emersonavenuesalons.com\/?page_id=8115"},"modified":"2025-04-08T00:17:50","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T04:17:50","slug":"2025-03-02-battle-of-the-brahms","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/emersonavenuesalons.com\/?page_id=8115","title":{"rendered":"Salonline 2025-03-02 Battle of the Brahms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

DONATE!<\/span><\/a> Watch Salonline<\/span><\/a> Previous Salonlines<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunday, March 2, 2025<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

— a “hybrid” event —<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Battle of the Brahms!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zac West<\/strong>, clarinet
Erica Schwartz<\/strong>, viola
Rebecca Willett<\/strong>, piano
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In 1894, the composer Johannes Brahms wrote two sonatas for clarinet and piano for the great clarinetist Richard M\u00fchlfeld. Brahms had all but retired from composing by this stage of his career, but the beauty of M\u00fchlfeld\u2019s playing inspired Brahms to return from retirement to compose some of his finest chamber works, including a trio, quintet, and two sonatas all featuring the clarinet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brahms himself also produced versions of these sonatas for the viola, and there has been a longstanding friendly rivalry between clarinetists and violists over which instrument does the music more justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Battle of the Brahms affords you a rare opportunity to hear these sonatas performed on clarinet AND viola on the same program! Decide for yourself which instrument best evokes the emotion of these heartfelt works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ending the program is the Fairy Tales for clarinet, viola, and piano by Brahms\u2019 friend and teacher Robert Schumann, bringing together all the musicians for this charming work<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PROGRAM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PROGRAM:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johannes Brahms: Viola Sonata No.1, Op. 120 No. 1<\/em><\/strong>
1. Allegro appassionato (\u201cFast and passionately\u2019)
2. Andante un poco adagio (\u201cSlow walking speed\u201d)
3. Allegretto grazioso (\u201cA little brisk, gracefully\u201d)
4. Vivace (\u201cLively\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Erica Schwartz, Viola
Rebecca Willett, Piano<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johannes Brahms: Clarinet Sonata No.2, Op. 120 No. 2<\/em><\/strong>
1. Allegro amabile (\u201cFast and lovingly\u201d)
2. Appasionato, ma non troppo Allegro (\u201cPassionately, but not too fast\u201d)
3. Andante con moto (\u201cWalking speed with motion\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zachary West, Clarinet
Rebecca Willett, Piano<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert Schumann: M\u00e4rchenerz\u00e4hlungen (\u201cFairy Tales\u201d), Op. 132<\/em><\/strong>
1. Lebhaft, nicht zu schnell (\u201cLight, but not too fast\u201d)
2. Lebhaft und sehr markiert (\u201cLight and very accented\u201d)
3. Ruhiges Tempo, mit zartem Ausdruck (\u201cA tranquil speed, with delicate expression\u201d)
4. Lebhaft, sehr markiert (\u201cLight, very accented\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zachary West, Clarinet
Erica Schwartz, Viola
Rebecca Willett, Piano<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BIOGRAPHY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Equally at home in both traditional and contemporary ensembles, clarinetist Zachary West<\/strong> has performed throughout the United States. A devoted chamber musician, he is co-founder of The Horizon Series and has been featured in intimate performances with members of the award-winning Belka and Cavani String Quartets, as well as with the orchestras of Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Toronto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an orchestral musician, he has performed under the baton of some of the world\u2019s finest conductors, including Jane Glover, Yoel Levi, JahJa Ling, and Robert Spano. In the summer of  2023, Zachary was chosen as one of seven finalists for the ICA Orchestral Audition Competition at the 50th Anniversary International Clarinet Association festival in Denver, Colorado, recognizing those on the cusp of a burgeoning orchestral career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An alumnus of both the Sarasota and Aspen Music Festivals, Zachary received a Master of Music degree from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music. Additionally, he holds a Post-Graduate Certificate from the Interlochen Center for the Arts and serves as Assistant Principal and Eb Clarinet in the Capital Wind Symphony in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Violist Erica Schwartz<\/strong> is originally from Albany, New York and resides in Arlington, Virginia. She currently serves as a member of the United States Army Strings, and has appeared as a substitute violist with the National, Baltimore, and Houston symphonies, and the Washington National Opera Orchestra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Erica has appeared at festivals such as the Pacific Music Festival, Tanglewood Music Center, Kneisel Hall, Bowdoin and the Banff Centre Chamber Music Residency. An avid teacher, Erica currently maintains a private studio in Arlington, VA and serves as a head coach for Crescendo Chamber Music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her primary teachers include Roger Tapping, Dimitri Murrath, Ivo-Jan Van der Werff and Joan DerHovsepian. In her free time, Ms. Schwartz enjoys running, lifting weights, reading and trying out new recipes. She holds a B.M. from the New England Conservatory, a B.A. in Political Science from Tufts University, and a Masters of Music from Rice University<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rebecca Willett<\/strong>, a Young Steinway Artist, is a pianist and collaborator based in Hampton Roads. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studied under Kathryn Brown and Daniel Shapiro as well as a Masters’ Degree in Piano Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where she studied with Awadagin Pratt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rebecca has worked as a chamber coach for Hampton Roads Chamber Players and spent two years performing internationally in a piano quintet with Lincoln Center Stage.  She performs frequently throughout the area as a chamber musician, solo artist and orchestral keyboardist, having performed with the Virginia Symphony and the Richmond Symphony in their 2021-2024 seasons as well as the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rebecca has been a featured concerto soloist with the Hampton Roads Philharmonic, Symphonicity and the Richmond Symphony. She performs frequently throughout the area on chamber music concerts at Christ & St. Luke\u2019s, the Governors\u2019 School for the Arts and Coastal Virginia Chamber Music among others. Rebecca is currently on faculty at the Governors\u2019 School for the Arts and maintains a private studio.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you’d like to receive Emerson Avenue Salon invitations, you can add yourself to the invitation list HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sunday, March 2, 2025 — a “hybrid” event — Battle of the Brahms! Zac West, clarinetErica Schwartz, violaRebecca Willett, piano In 1894, the composer Johannes Brahms wrote two sonatas for clarinet and piano for the great clarinetist Richard M\u00fchlfeld. Brahms had all but retired from composing by this stage of his career, but the beauty […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-8115","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emersonavenuesalons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emersonavenuesalons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emersonavenuesalons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emersonavenuesalons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emersonavenuesalons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8115"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/emersonavenuesalons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8219,"href":"https:\/\/emersonavenuesalons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8115\/revisions\/8219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emersonavenuesalons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}