On March 10, violist Jonah Sirota of the Chiara Quartet and UNL Glenn Korff School of Music will be performing an all-Schubert recital, including the Sonata in A minor for arpeggione and piano and the beloved “Trout” Quintet. The performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Westbrook Recital Hall. Sirota will be joined by the GKSOM faculty: Mark Clinton, David Neely, Karen Becker and bassist Hans Sturm.
The arpeggione is a cello-like instrument with six strings and frets and is rarely played in the modern era. Schubert’s sonata for the instrument has been transcribed for both viola and cello, as the range of the arpeggione covers the ranges of both instruments.
It is a dark and dramatic sonata, written by Schubert toward the end of his life in the same period as his “Death and the Maiden” quartet. The “Piano Quintet” in A Major, by contrast, was written nearly ten years earlier, when Schubert was only 22. It gets its name from the song “Die Forrell,” which forms the basis for a set of variations in the fourth movement. This work is a sunny, leisurely work and a great contrast to the emotional intensity of the “Arpeggione Sonata.” Although Schubert is not particularly noted as a composer of viola music, these two works showcase the viola in wonderful ways and are both audience favorites.
Don’t miss this chance to hear two Schubert masterpieces in one program. The event is free and open to the public.
