There is a violin and piano sonata that Catherine and I have performed many times over the years and absolutely love: the Sonata opus 18 by Richard Strauss. He composed it in his early years (23 years old) before all the famous tone poems (Don Juan, Also Sprach Zarathustra, Till Eulenspiegel, Death and Transfiguration) and the operas. We wanted to include this work in the summer festival since a very long time and didn't find the appropriate theme. I was also nervous about dedicating a whole festival to the chamber music of Richard Strauss because of how little known it is. My solution was to have the theme as "expressionism," in other words, late romantic composers who are stepping over the threshold into expressionism. This was a perfect fit for Richard Strauss! The theme for this year was set as "expressionism."
Catherine then added Strauss's cello sonata to her repertoire and we practiced and performed the seldom played piano quartet. Both even earlier works than the violin sonata. Both exceptionally beautiful. I realized that Strauss really DID deserve to have a festival dedicated to him! Hence, the courage to dedicate this year's festival to Richard Strauss! We will include one work of Strauss in every concert and a few other "expressionist" works by other composers.
Why do we love these compositions? They are musically and technically demanding but also very well written for the instruments. Above all, there are such gorgeous melodies, incredible build ups, very special atmospheres and they allow all instruments to shine! They are also works that people hear very rarely which fulfills one of the missions of Kaimerata: "the more you know, the more you love."
In addition to the works of Strauss, we will perform Erno von Dohnanyi's wonderful Serenade for String Trio. It is a masterpiece for this combination of instruments. Five short movements: virtuoso, varied, melodious and exciting. We have added an exciting and tuneful string quartet by Edvard Grieg, composed around the same time as the Strauss compositions. Also on the menu is one of the most expressive works of all time: Ernest Chausson's "Concert," written for violin, piano, and string quartet. An incredibly difficult piano part, a soaring violin part, accompanied by a string quartet. Four drop-dead beautiful movements! And we couldn't forget a short work by Gustav Mahler!
There won't be a dry eye in the house!!