West Stockbridge — Have you seen the Old Town Hall in West Stockbridge lately? The Historical Society has been busy the last several years restoring the building, and the results have been spectacular. They are now about to undertake completion of an ADA-compliant bathroom and a new heating and air conditioning system. These improvements have been made possible through grants and donations but also with the help of benefit concerts performed by the West Stockbridge Chamber Players, a group consisting mostly of Boston Symphony Orchestra musicians and led by clarinetist and Artistic Director Catherine Hudgins. The group will perform a program of Brahms, Beethoven, and Mozart at the Congregational Church on December 28.
Hudgins, violinist Sheila Fiekowsky, and violist Daniel Getz will be joined by a newcomer to the group: Brian Locke, a pianist, organist, conductor, coach, and répétiteur with experience in academia, opera, concertizing, and church music.
Mr. Locke’s specialty being chamber music and collaborative piano, he is perfectly suited to accompany Ms. Fiekowsky on the program’s opening work: Brahms’ “Scherzo de la Sonate FAE.” For that matter, Brahms’ evocative and technically challenging piece will be a showcase for Ms. Fiekowsky, too, as Brahms’ penchant for rhythmic complexity will give her plenty of harrowing opportunities to show her stuff.
FAE? What’s with that?
It stands for “frei aber einsam,” or “free but lonely,” which was the musical motto of the piece’s lovesick dedicatee, the violinist Joseph Joachim. (Brahms was a little less lovesick than Joachim, so his motto was “frei aber froh,” or “free but glad.”)
“Scherzo de la Sonate” is much more than the scherzo of a four-movement sonata. It stands on its own and is the only movement of the sonata played regularly today. A perennially popular work, it has been transcribed for cello and viola. Brahms wastes no time grabbing your attention on this piece, and as a high-energy scherzo, it satisfies. But an intensely lyrical section interrupts the scherzo groove and delivers all your hoped-for melodies before returning to the scherzo rhythm and ending the piece as it began. It is about six minutes long, but it seems more like four.
Brahms’ Viola Sonata in F minor, Op. 120, No. 1, follows, and now the spotlight falls on … whom? The piece was written for clarinet with piano accompaniment and later transcribed for viola by the composer. So either Hudgins or Getz could be featured soloists on this one. But no matter who plays it, it will be exciting, profound, and moving. In fact, this piece is widely considered one of the most beautiful in all of Brahms’ chamber works.
Next on the program is Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 1 in D major, Op. 12, No. 1. Created during the composer’s first maturity, the three sonatas in the Op. 12 set were written, for the most part, in the classical style typical of Mozart and Haydn.
Closing the program is Mozart’s Trio in E-flat major, K 498 for piano, clarinet, and viola. Ludwig von Köchel assigned the nickname “Kegelstatt” (English “skittles”) when he cataloged the piece in 1862, because Mozart had inscribed on the first page of the autograph manuscript, “Vienna, 27 July 1786 while playing skittles.” Mozart wrote the piece for the prominent clarinet virtuoso Anton Stadler and probably selected the viola because it was his own instrument. With Brian Locke on piano, Catherine Hudgins on clarinet, and Daniel Getz on viola, “Kegelstatt” will please the most discriminating ears.
To benefit the West Stockbridge Historical Society’s restoration of Old Town Hall, come to the Congregational Church on Thursday, December 28, 5 p.m., to hear the West Stockbridge Chamber Players in a program of Brahms, Beethoven, and Mozart. Tickets: $35. For information and tickets, visit the Society’s website or call (413) 232-5055.
