Kaufman Music Center – Music Speaks: Undiluted Days – Merz Trio at Merkin Hall

Directed by Jonathan LevinRiveting stunning virtuosity and ensemble work fresh and surprising interpretations Susan Pena, Reading EagleCLAUDIO MONTEVERDI Interrotte speranze (Broken hope, 1619)arr. Merz TrioFRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN Piano Trio No. 45 in E-flat Major, Hob. XV/29 (1797)1. Poco allegrettoJEFFREY MUMFORD undiluted days (2000)ALMA MAHLER Laue Sommernacht (Mild summer night, 1910)arr. Merz TrioDITH PIAF/LOUIGUY/MARGUERITE MONNOT La vie en rose (Life in pink, 1945)arr. Merz TrioCARLO GESUALDO Moro, lasso, al mio duolo (I die, alas, in my suffering, 1611)arr. Merz TrioIRISH TRADITIONAL Samradh Samradh (Summer Summer) Irish Traditional, arr. Merz TrioPYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Trio in A Minor, Op. 50 (1882)* la memoire dun grand artiste (In memory of a great artist)I. Pezze elegiaco. Moderato assai Allegro giustoII. (A) Tema con variazioni: Andante con moto (B) Variazioni finale e codaRICHARD STRAUSS Morgen! (Tomorrow!), Op. 27 No. 4 (1894)arr. Merz TrioMerz Trio are First Prize winners at the 2021 Naumburg International Chamber Music Competition. Composed of players hailed as impressive (New York Times), impeccable (Fanfare Magazine), and praised for a sense of joyful virtuosity (South Florida Classical Review), Merz Trio has quickly emerged as a unique and award-winning ensemble, garnering the First Prize at the 2019 Fischoff Competition and the First Prize and Audience Prize at the 2018 Chesapeake Competition.Jeffrey Mumfords undiluted days is the tempestuous heart of this program, set against Tchaikovskys great elegy on the second half. Raw, passionate, and elegiac by turns, Mumfords trio gathers around it a small community of works ranging from Carlo Gesualdo to Alma Mahler, dith Piaf to Irish traditional, all sharing a quality of unapologetic, undiluted experience. In the shadow of these twin elegies, we are charmed by mild summers and the joys of friendship, we experience the pains of heartbreak and la vie en rose, and we begin gradually to introduce the universe of emotion we will encounter fully in Tchaikovksys in memory of a great artist.$15 students tickets are available by phone or in person. Call the box office at 212 501 3330.Sponsored by Augusta Gross and Leslie B. Samuels