Concert: Russian Elegy

[4th Floor] Misha Keylin (violin), Zlatomir Fung (cello), and Pavel Nersessian (piano) will perform works by Anatoly Lyadov — Pieces for piano, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka — Trio Pathétique, and Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky — Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50.

Illustrated talk by Stephen Johnson.

“I have known love only through the unhappiness it causes,” wrote the 28-year-old Russian composer Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka on the title page of his “Trio Pathétique.” Later he found fulfillment in the music, culture and spiritual life of the Russian people. In so doing, he turned his back on chamber music, but this remarkably fresh and expressive work proved influential for his younger compatriots, including Tchaikovsky. Prone to extreme mood swings, Tchaikovsky wrote in 1880 that he could not bear the combination of piano with violin or cello. Only a year later, when his friend and mentor Nikolai Rubinstein died, he created a magnificent work for – piano trio! It ranges from profound grief in the first movement to joyous recollection in the finale, plunging back into desolation at the end. Piano miniatures by Anatoly Lyadov act as worthy scene-setters for these two titanic trios.

Tickets $45 available online.

This event is organized by the Aspect Chamber Music Series.

From Bohemian National Hall.