Program for the October 16, 2022 ECMP concert



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Johann Sebastian Bach
Trio Sonata in G Major BWV 1038



The most renowned member of a distinguished family of German musicians and composers, J. S. Bach was born in 1685 in Eisenach, Thuringia (Germany). He is considered one of the greatest composers in history. A virtuoso organist who was famous throughout Germany during his career, Bach served as court musician and composer in Arnstadt, Weimar, Cöthen and finally as cantor and director of music at Leipzig from 1723 to his death in 1750. His most famous works include the Brandenberg Concerti, the Well-Tempered Clavier and the Art of the Fugue. Bach's fame during his lifetime was due to his ability as an organist more than his reputation as a composer, but since his 19th century rediscovery, spearheaded by Mendelssohn, he has been hailed as a genius whose work represents the peak of the
Baroque era

Trio Sonata in G Major, BWV 1038, for Flute, Violin & Continuo

Although it is generally attributed to J. S. Bach, there is some question as to its authorship. There are autographs in Bach's handwriting, but they may have been parts prepared for his musical series at Zimmerman's coffee house in Leipzig in the 1730's, while the actual composition was an exercise completed by one of his students based on the themes of his violin sonatas BWV 1021 in G Major and BWV 1022 in F Major. Another possibility is that his son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach either composed or revised the trio, published as his Trio Sonata in G Major, H.590.5. Relatively unusual for J. S. Bach is the scordatura violin tuning and the deëmphasis of the keyboard part, even in the continuo. The Largo first movement is half of the total piece and its heart. The flute and violin play relaxed, flowing melodies against the cello and piano background. The Vivace sees quick, lyrical counterpoint prevailing and the Adagio tends to reprise the first movement, albeit more contemplatively. In the
​(David Derow) lively Presto finale the piano finally asserts itself




Franz Joseph Haydn
Trio in G Major for Flute, Cello and Piano



​Franz Joseph Haydn Born in Rohrau, Lower Austria, in 1732, the son of a wheelwright, Haydn was trained as a choirboy and sang in the choir at St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna, from about 1740 to 1750. He then worked as an impecunious freelance musician, teaching and performing on the violin and keyboard instruments. In 1761 he was appointed a court musician to one of the leading Hungarian families, the Esterházys, where he rose to the position of Kapellmeister. Although a comfortable and remunerative position, it isolated him on their estate far from the musical centers of Europe. Liberated from the service of Prince Esterhazy, who had died in 1790, Haydn became an independent composer, managing his business affairs with considerable promotional acumen. He received an abundance of commissions, especially from England. The impresario, Johann Peter Salomon, invited him to come to London with new compositions. Haydn's first visit lasted 18 months, January 1791 to June 1792. In a letter to the London music publisher John Bland, Haydn confirmed that he was writing three trios for piano, flute (or violin) and violoncello for Bland of which he was sending the first, adding, “in eight days I shall send you the second sonata for piano and as soon as possible the third as well.” Haydn was, perhaps, slightly devious here: having sold Bland these trios, barely a month later, somewhat duplicitously, he sent the very same trios to Artaria, his publisher in Vienna. (Of course Beethoven was also known to assign exclusive rights to compositions to more than one publisher.) Haydn achieved an unprecedented celebrity (making a second triumphant visit to England in 1794-1795) and was instrumental in the development of the classical symphony's form as well as chamber music, especially quartets and piano trios. Haydn died in Vienna in 1809.

Trio No. 29 in G Major, for Flute, Cello & Piano, Hob. XV:15

The Allegro immediately asserts a certain authority in the piano part, but also a degree of independence of the flute with its airy response. The Andante in in 6/8 time in the form of a very relaxed Lied whose middle section is in c minor with an incursion into E-flat Major. The Finale, Allegro moderato, plays the part of the rondo of the sonata concluding with a coda (David Derow)




Franz Joseph Haydn
Trio in G Major for Flute, Cello and Piano



​Franz Joseph Haydn
Born in Rohrau, Austria, in 1732, the son of a wheelwright, Haydn was trained as a choirboy and sang in the choir at St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna, from about 1740 to 1750. He then worked as a inpecunious freelance musician, playing the violin and keyboard instruments. In 1761 he was appointed a court musician to one of the leading Hungarian families, the Esterházys, where he rose to the position of Kapellmeister. Although a comfortable and remunerative position, it isolated him on their estate far from the musical centers of Europe. Liberated from the service of Prince Esterhazy, who had died in 1790, Haydn became a free-lance composer. He received an abundance of commissions, especially from England. The impresario, Johann Peter Salomon, invited him to come to London with new compositions. Haydn's first visit lasted 18 months, January 1791 to June 1792. In a letter to the London music publisher John Bland, Haydn confirmed that he was writing three trios for piano, flute (or violin) and violoncello for Bland of which he was sending the first, adding, “in eight days I shall send you the second sonata for piano and as soon as possible the third as well.” It's amusing to observe the double game Haydn played with his publishers...barely a month later Haydn sent the very same trios to Artaria, his publisher in Vienna. Haydn achieved an unprecedented celebrity (making a second triumphant visit to England in 1794-1795) and was instrumental in the development of the classical symphony's form as well as chamber music,
especially quartets and piano trios. Haydn died in Vienna in 1809

Trio No. 29 in G Major, for Flute, Cello & Piano, Hob. XV:15

The Allegro immediately asserts a certain authority in the piano part, but also a degree of independence of the flute with its airy response. The Andante in in 6/8 time in the form of a very relaxed Lied whose middle section is in c minor with an incursion into E-flat Major. The Finale, Allegro moderato, plays the part of the rondo of the sonata concluding with a coda



Amy Beach
Trio Sonata in a minor, Opus 150



Amy Beach Amy Marcy Cheney was born in 1867 in Henniker, NH, to an artistic and musical family. A child prodigy, from her earliest years she demonstrated remarkable musical ability, even composing three pieces for piano when she was four and on vacation without access to a piano, not being able to perform them until returning home. Her mother was her first piano teacher. When her family moved to Chelsea, MA, in 1875, she received instruction in piano performance, harmony and counterpoint from local teachers from the Boston musical scene. She was self-taught in the more formal aspects of composition and musical theory. From the age of 16 she began a career as a concert pianist, within two years playing with the Boston Symphony. At 18, she married Dr. Henry Harris Aubrey Beach, a prominent Boston surgeon aged 42. Due to his (and now her) position in society he decreed that she should perform no more than twice a year and be billed as, and compose as Mrs. H. H. A. Beach. Although her earliest published songs and music were effectively salon music, she developed a gravitas evidenced in her serious orchestral works, most notably her Gaelic Symphony and her Piano Concerto, both premièred by the BSO, the latter with her as the soloist. She was the only woman member of the Second Boston School (a.k.a. The Boston Six), “one of the boys,” according to George Whitefield Chadwick, another of that group. After her husband's death in 1910 she left Boston and, as Amy Beach, toured Europe until the outbreak of WWI, when she returned home, ultimately settling in New York City, although spending many summers in Hillsborough, NH. Several times a McDowell fellow, she composed primarily chamber and instrumental works that began to diverge from the Euro-centric classicism of her earlier works. She died in New York in 1944

Piano Trio in a minor, Op. 150

Written in 1938, the Piano Trio in A minor shows a combination of several forms. The Allegro opens with the piano's lush, swirling notes soon punctuated by the cello's mournful entrance, then joined by the violin. The three combine into wistfully yearning romanticism. The Lento espressivo/Presto movement continues in the mood of the previous movement, its languorous tempo, somewhat suggestive of Native American music, interrupted by a furious contrapuntal section. The final Allegro con brio movement opens with cheerful, ragtime like enthusiasm subsiding into a languorous section reminiscent of the second movement before concluding with a stridently triumphant close (David Derow)



Amy Beach
Trio Sonata in A minor



Amy Beach Amy Marcy Cheney was born in 1867 in Henniker, NH, to an artistic and musical family. A child prodigy, from her earliest years she demonstrated remarkable musical ability, even composing three pieces for piano when she was four and on vacation without access to a piano, not being able to perform them until returning home. Her mother was her first piano teacher. When her family moved to Chelsea, MA, in 1875, she received instruction in piano performance, harmony and counterpoint from local teachers from the Boston musical scene. She was self-taught in the more formal aspects of composition and musical theory. From the age of 16 she began a career as a concert pianist, within two years playing with the Boston Symphony. At 18, she married Dr. Henry Harris Aubrey Beach, a prominent Boston surgeon aged 42. Due to his (and now her) position in society he decreed that she should perform no more than twice a year and be billed as and compose as Mrs. H. H. A. Beach. Although her earliest published songs and music were effectively salon music, she developed a gravitas evidenced in her serious orchestral works, most notably her Gaelic Symphony and her Piano Concerto, both premièred by the BSO, the latter with her as the soloist. She was the only woman member of the Second Boston School (a.k.a. The Boston Six), “one of the boys,” according to George Whitefield Chadwick, another of that group. After her husband's death in 1910 she left Boston and, as Amy Beach, toured Europe until the outbreak of WWI, when she returned home, ultimately settling in New York City, although spending many summers in Hillsborough, NH. Several times a McDowell fellow, she composed primarily chamber and instrumental works that began to diverge from the Euro-centric classicism of her earlier works. She died in New York in 1944. Piano Trio in a minor, Op. 150 Written in 1938, the Piano Trio in A minor shows a combination of several forms. The Allegro opens with the piano's lush, swirling notes soon punctuated by the cello's mournful entrance, then joined by the violin. The three combine into wistfully yearning romanticism. The Lento espressivo/Presto movement continues in the mood of the previous movement, its languorous tempo, somewhat suggestive of Native American music, interrupted by a furious contrapuntal section. The final Allegro con brio movement opens with cheerful, ragtime like enthusiasm subsiding into a languorous section reminiscent of the second movement before concluding with a stridently triumphant close.




Emma Lou Diemer
Quartet for flute, violin, cello and piano On Themes of Howard Hanson



A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Diemer receive her degrees in music composition from the Yale School of Music(BM,MM) and the Eastman School of Music (Ph.D.) She studied further in Brussels on a Fulbright Scholarship and at Tanglewood. Her music has been published since 1957 and includes works for orchestra, band, chamber ensembles, solo instruments, and electronic pieces.She has received annual ASCAP awards since 1962 for performances and publications. Other recognitions include a Louisville Orchestra Student award, a Ford Foundation Young Composers Grant for a 2-year composer residency in the Arlington, VA schools, an NEA fellowship in electronic music, a 1992 Kennedy Center Friedheim award for Concerto in One Movement for piano, the American Guild of Organists Composer of the Year award, a Mu Phi Epsilon Merit Award for 1995, and others. She id Professor Emeritus at the University of Santa Barbara where she taught theory and composition from 1971 to 1991, was composer-in-residence with the Santa Barbara Symphony 1990-1992, and she was organist at First . . Presbyterian Church in Santa Barbara from 1984 to 2000


Quartet on Themes By Howard Hanson for Flute, Violin, Cello and Piano


Commissioned by the Hanson Institute for American Music for the
Women in Music Festival, 2010 at the Eastman School of Music Composer's Note: This light-hearted, one-movement work does not, or barely does, echo the romanticism of Howard Hanson's music, which is unsurpassed for its warm accessibility. The Quartet does, however, borrow motives from the first and third movements of his Symphony No. 2 and from the Maypole Dance from his opera "Merry Mount". The very opening of the Quartet makes use of the Lydian mode, one of Hanson's favorites, and later on the 3-chord motive of his second symphony has a prominent Role, and the dancing rhythm of his Maypole Dance makes two vigorous appearances in the Quartet. In the final year of her doctoral study the composer had the honor of being in one of Howard Hanson's last composition classes at Eastman




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