FCS Up Close no. 2

Discover the expressive beauty of the horn in this intimate chamber concert featuring two remarkable works by Johannes Brahms and Dame Ethel Smyth. Audiences will experience Brahms’ beloved Horn Trio, a cornerstone of the chamber music repertoire, alongside a rare chamber transcription of Smyth’s Concerto for Violin, Horn, and Orchestra. Together, these works explore themes of nature, nostalgia, and personal expression while offering contrasting perspectives from two distinctive compositional voices.

Along the way, musicians will share insights into the natural horn tradition that inspired Brahms’ writing and introduce audiences to Smyth’s groundbreaking legacy as both a composer and a leader in the women’s suffrage movement. Through engaging commentary and storytelling, listeners will gain a deeper appreciation for the music, the artists behind it, and the historical contexts that shaped these works.

Perfect for both seasoned concertgoers and those new to classical music, this welcoming Up Close performance combines exceptional chamber music with fascinating history, creating meaningful connections between performers, audiences, and the enduring power of artistic expression.

Audience members are invited to stay after the concert for a brief reception and an up-close Q&A with the musicians, offering a chance to ask questions, explore the music more deeply, and connect with the artists behind the performance.

*Musicians* 

Click each name to learn more about each FCS musician!

Ben Shafer, horn

Byron Hitchcock, violin

Alaina de Bellevue, piano

 

*Repertoire*

Trio in Eb for Piano, Violin and Horn, Op. 40 (1865) / Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

I. Andante

II. Scherzo Allegro

III. Adagio mesto

IV. Finale: Allegro con brio

Johannes Brahms composed his Horn Trio in E-flat major, Op. 40, in May 1865 while grieving the recent death of his mother, retreating to the Black Forest resort town of Baden-Baden to write it. Scored for natural horn, violin, and piano, the trio reflects Brahms’s own boyhood training on the natural horn. He insisted on the instrument’s darker, veiled color even as the modern valve horn was gaining popularity. The work unfolds in four movements: a somber opening in place of a traditional sonata-form movement, a lively scherzo, a mournful Adagio mesto built on a variant of a folk song his mother once taught him, and a jubilant finale rich with hunting-horn calls. Premiered in Zurich on November 28, 1865 with Brahms himself playing the piano, the trio remains one of classical music’s most beloved chamber works, prized for balancing intimate sorrow with warmth and vitality.

Concerto for Violin, Horn and Piano (1927) / Dame Ethel Smyth (1858-1944)

I. Allegro Moderato

II. Elegy: In Memoriam

III. Finale: Allegro

Dame Ethel Smyth’s Concerto for Violin, Horn and Orchestra premiered on May 5, 1927, at Queen’s Hall in London, with violinist Jelly d’Aranyi and hornist Aubrey Brain. Written when Smyth was in her late sixties and coping with increasing deafness, the concerto stands as one of the first major works for horn by a woman composer. Its three movements pair the violin and horn as equal partners: a bold Allegro moderato, an elegiac slow movement titled “In Memoriam,” and a spirited Presto finale built on hunting-horn calls. While the piece is originally written for a full orchestra accompaniment, this version with piano distills Smyth’s colorful orchestration into an intimate chamber setting that spotlights the interplay between the two solo voices without sacrificing the drama of this virtuosic work.