Trio Animato: “The Mendelssohn Project" at the Sound Conservatory -- August 24.
Saturday, August 24, 7 p.m.
Sound Conservatory, 504 17th Street, Moline IL
Featuring the virtuosic talents of Rob Miller on clarinet, Kian Hyatt on bassoon, and Andrzej Kozlowski on piano, the musicians' outfit Trio Animato will perform a special event in the recently renovated concert hall of Moline's Sound Conservatory, their August 24 The Mendelssohn Project allowing listeners to enjoy a mesmerizing journey into the heart of classical music and the timeless compositions of composer Felix Mendelssohn.
Born Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in 1809, and a musical legend despite passing away at age 38, Mendelssohn was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period, and his compositions include symphonies, concertos, piano music, organ music, and chamber music. Mendelssohn's best-known works include: the overture and incidental music for A Midsummer Night's Dream (which includes his "Wedding March"); the Italian Symphony; the Scottish Symphony; the oratorio St. Paul; the oratorio Elijah; the overture The Hebrides; the mature Violin Concerto; the String Octet; and the melody used in the Christmas carol "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing." Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words, meanwhile, are his most famous solo piano compositions.
Mendelssohn's grandfather was the renowned Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, but Felix was initially raised without religion until he was baptized aged seven into the Reformed Christian church. He was recognized early as a musical prodigy, but his parents were cautious and did not seek to capitalize on his talent. His sister Fanny Mendelssohn received a similar musical education and was a talented composer and pianist in her own right. Some of her early songs were published under her brother's name, and her Easter Sonata was, for a time, mistakenly attributed to him after being lost and rediscovered in the 1970s.
During his professional tenure, Mendelssohn enjoyed early success in Germany, and he also revived interest in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, notably with his performance of the St Matthew Passion in 1829. He became well-received in his travels throughout Europe as a composer, conductor, and soloist, with his 10 visits to Great Britain – during which many of his major works were premiered – forming a significant part of his adult career. In addition, Mendelssohn's essentially conservative musical tastes set him apart from more adventurous musical contemporaries such as Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner, Charles-Valentin Alkan and Hector Berlioz; The Leipzig Conservatory, which he founded, became a bastion of this anti-radical outlook. After a long period of relative denigration due to changing musical tastes and antisemitism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Mendelssohn's creative originality has subsequently been re-evaluated, and he is now among the most popular composers of the Romantic era.
Performing with Trio Animato on The Mendelssohn Project, St. Ambrose University adjunct professor Rob Miller has premiered many new works for clarinet, including performances for the Talloires International New Music Festival in France, and received the John Cage Award for his performance of the Boston premiere of Elliot Carter's Clarinet Concerto. Kian Hyatt has studied with bassoonists from ensembles including the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra, has performed on the From the Top radio show, and has won multiple young artist competitions. And Sound Conservatory owner and director Andrzej Kozłowski, a native of Poland, studied at the C.W. Post campus of Long Island University in music education before moving on to study piano performance at the famed Juilliard School.
Trio Animato's The Mendelssohn Project will be performed on August 24, admission to the 7 p.m. concert is $12-40, and more information and tickets and available by visiting SoundConservatory.com.
