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Free@3 Presents: FRENCH FEST 2023
Join us for an afternoon of extraordinary chamber music where six accomplished professional women come together to play works by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint Georges; Claude Debussy; and Ernest Chausson. Bologne is a composer from Guadeloupe, who became a virtuoso violinist and trained in Paris. He was the son of a French plantation owner and his slave. The violin sonata movement that will be played will showcase the violinist's prowess. Debussy's Sonata for Cello and Piano was the first of six sonatas composed as part of a project in which he wanted to feature one chamber instrument as its focus. He wrote this work for his wife Emma. This sonata is considered one of the greatest pieces of cello repertoire. Sadly, Debussy did not finish his project and only completed three of the six sonatas before his death. This piece has three movements which are sure to transport the listener into his world of impressionist musical art. The piece de resistance is Ernest Chausson's Concert for Violin, Piano, and String Quartet, a sextet in four movements, first performed in Brussels in 1892. The piece is structured much like a "concerto grosso", where the violin and piano are more solo instruments accompanied by the quartet. The finale is elaborately virtuosic and brilliant, bringing a spectacular end to an unforgettable journey in music. Our musicians are Dr. Sookkyung Cho, professor of piano at GVSU, Haijin Choi, Grand Rapids Symphony violinist and faculty at Calvin; Grand Rapids Symphony violinist Kimia Ghaderi; Grand Rapids Symphony assistant concertmaster Grace Kim; Assistant Principal Violist of the GR Symphony Barbara Corbato; and GR Symphony's Principal Cellist Alicia Eppinga.
We hope you can join us, as always, these concerts are free of charge and open to the public.
