The 2022 Winter Festival comes to a close with the string trio BLUE…RED…GREEN by Carman Moore, a brief gem by Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, and the 3rd Sonata for Violin and Piano by George Enescu.

WWCMF continues with its intention to honor composers of color, and in our small way, make up for lost time during which our industry showed this beautiful repertoire neglect. Carman Moore is a prolific composer, conductor, and educator, having served on the faculties of Carnegie-Mellon and Yale Universities. His works have been performed by major orchestras the world over. BLUE…RED…GREEN was composed in 2007.

The festival concludes with the reprise performance of the Enescu Sonata No. 3 for violin and piano. The work will reveal even more of its many mysteries in this second hearing.

Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (1932-2004)

MOVEMENT FOR STRING TRIO (2004)

l. ♪= 60

Carman Moore (b. 1936)

BLUE…RED…GREEN (2009) 
FOR STRING TRIO

l. Blue

ll. Red

lll. Green

George Enescu (1881-1955)

SONATA NO. 3 IN A MINOR DANS LE CARACTÈRE POPULAIRE ROUMAIN, OP. 25 (1926) FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO

I. Moderato malinconico

II. Andante sostenuto e misterioso

II. Allegro con brio, ma non troppo mosso

Artists: Timothy Christie, viola; Artur Girsky, violin; Rowena Hammill, cello; David Korevaar, piano; and Maria Sampen, violin.

George Enescu’s Third Sonata for Violin and Piano carries a subtitle that seems innocent enough— “dans le caractère populaire roumain.” Roughly translated, it means “in Roumanian folk character.” Maybe you’ve heard Bartòk’s Roumanian Folk Dances and think to yourself, “Oh, I know what that style sounds like.” Not so.

To hear (or perform) this work is to enter a phantasmagoria of mood and color. The piano surges like the hammered cimbalom, a dulcimer-like instrument of the Romani tradition, while the violin whoops, laments, and dances in turn. It is a sonata unlike any other. Pianist David Korevaar and violinist Maria Sampen bring this astonishing and beautiful work to life.

George Enescu (1881-1955)

SONATA NO. 3 IN A MINOR DANS LE CARACTÈRE POPULAIRE ROUMAIN, OP. 25 (1926) FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO

I. Moderato malinconico

II. Andante sostenuto e misterioso

II. Allegro con brio, ma non troppo mosso

Artists: David Korevaar, piano; and Maria Sampen, violin.

Violist, Dr. Marcus Thompson is the Artistic Director of the Boston Chamber Music Society, Institute Professor at MIT and on the faculty of the New England Conservatory. He also has a role in the origin story of WWCMF. You’ll have to attend his Portrait of an Artist recital to find out the details and partake in an incredible evening of music for viola and piano.

We return to the gallery at Foundry Vineyards for this virtuoso recital featuring music of Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Clarke, and Enescu.

Artists: Marcus Thompson, viola and Henry Kramer, piano.

Tonight’s performance has been made possible by the generosity of Ben and Landra Macy. The Steinway grand piano has been provided by the Walla Walla Piano Group.

A native of Austin, Texas, Billy Ray Hunter is currently Principal Trumpet with the Metropolitan Opera in New York and Assistant Principal Trumpet with the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra in Chicago. Tonight, joined by his wife and pianist, Anna Stoytcheva, Billy moves from the back row of the orchestra to center stage.

It is written in an ancient text that trumpets knocked down the walls of Jericho. However, there is no need to be squeamish about sitting in the front row. Billy has been asked to restrain himself from any sonic demolition. The Walls Vineyards will remain very much intact with music by Bozza, Hovhaness and Enesco.

Artists: Billy Ray Hunter, trumpet; and Anna Stoytcheva, piano.

Adams' Hallelujah Junction and music of Enescu, Mozart and Haydn

Festival Series III brings three centuries of chamber music to the WWCMF stage. From the outer ends of the 20th century are John Adams’ Hallelujah Junction (1998) and George Enescu’s First Rumanian Rhapsody (1901). For the Adams, will pianists Winston Choi and Xak Bjerken rouse the combined 176 hammers of the black and white keys of two pianos into a celebratory chorus of Americana Minimalism? I think not… The Enescu First Rumanian Rhapsody, full of both sentiment and dizzying virtuosity, brings to mind the antics of classic Bugs Bunny.

Balancing these works from the poles of the 20th century are works by Mozart and Haydn. The Mozart Grande Sestetto Concertante is an artful reworking of his famous Sinfonia Concertante K. 364, for violin, viola and orchestra. So deft is the transcription that the jobs of two soloists and full orchestra are carried out by just six musicians, providing an intimacy and accessibility unmatched by the large scale original. Finally, Festival Series III pays homage to the Father of the String Quartet, Franz Joseph Haydn. His Op. 71, No. 2 is a compelling example of both his unmatched elegance and his legendary wit.

Artists: Xak Bjerken, Kevin Casseday, Winston Choi, Timothy Christie, Kevin Krentz, Norbert Lewandowski, Christina McGann, Stephen Miahky, Philip Payton ,Julia Salerno, Maria Sampen and MingHuan Xu.