Paths to Maturity

Thursday, May 1, 7.30PM

Bohemian National Hall
321 E 73rd St, New York, NY 10021

Leonard Elschenbroich cello

Alexei Grynyuk piano

Beethoven Sonata No. 1 in F major, Op. 5, No. 1
Beethoven Sonata No. 5 in D major, Op. 102, No. 2
Prokofiev March from “The Love for Three Oranges”
Prokofiev Cello Sonata in C major, Op. 119

Illustrated talk by Stephen Johnson

Both Sergei Prokofiev and Ludwig van Beethoven started out as brilliant provocateurs. A passionate believer in revolutionary democracy, Beethoven strove to express defiance, determination, and subversive humor in his music, and devil take anyone who complained. Prokofiev was more of a demonic prankster, never happier than when he made a staid classical audience boo and hiss. But life had hard lessons for them both. Beethoven had to watch the corruption and destruction of his ideals and come to terms with deafness and his failure to find the “true” wife he yearned for. Feeling himself a failure in the West, Prokofiev succumbed to a charm offensive from his native Russia, only to feel the full oppressive force of Stalinism.

But in both cases, suffering brought new depth to their music. In this concert, we hear the brilliant young iconoclast Prokofiev in his famous March from the opera The Love for Three Oranges, then the older, wiser composer in the nobly beautiful Cello Sonata. Beethoven’s first and last cello sonatas show us both the optimistic, provocative, wickedly playful young man and the older composer Thomas Mann called the “lonely prince of a realm of spirits.” But the later work also shows us how darkness and isolation can be faced—and how one can even emerge from it, dancing.

No refunds, no exchanges. Artists, programs, dates, and prices are subject to change.

Programs and artists are subject to change. If an event presented by Aspect Chamber Music Series is cancelled or postponed, we will announce the change—if time permits—by email, phone, a letter sent to your home, and on www.aspectmusic.net.