By Susan Paynter
Christmas and New Year’s have passed but winter’s cold, dark days have not. On January 19 the brightness and warmth of Mozart and Brahms will brighten winter’s monotony in Chatham.
The Chatham Concert Series returns from its holiday break with Alex Jones, principal clarinetist of the Pittsburgh Philharmonic, and the Saturn String Quartet. Jones and the string musicians will perform Mozart and Brahms Quintets for Clarinet & Strings.
“We wanted to bring symphonic music to Chatham,” said Chatham Concert Series Artistic Director Kevin Matheson. “Naturally we’re limited in the number of performers we can bring, but these pieces offer a depth beyond the traditional chamber repertoire. They have the feel of a symphonic concert.”
Composing his Quintet in A Major in 1789, Mozart beautifully blended styles he used for opera, concerto and string quartet. Brahms, whose chamber music is unsurpassed, wrote Quintet in B Minor, considered one of his finest compositions, in 1891, or 102 years after the influential Mozart piece.
Alex Jones is looking forward to the concert. “Hearing these quintets got me excited about learning the clarinet when I was in school, and I love seeing that excitement in our audiences,” he said.
Filling out the quintet with Jones’ clarinet will be the Saturn String Quartet: Kevin Matheson and Leon Kok on violin, the viola of Bryan Matheson and cello played by Kelley Mikkelsen, all of the Roanoke Symphony.
The concert will be held at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 66 N. Main Street in Chatham at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 19. Admission is by donation for the artists. For more information contact Kevin Matheson at [email protected] or 540-382-9624.