Program Notes
Creatively Connected: Nonets of Bohuslav Jan Martinů and Louise Farrenc

Musicians

Wendy Wilhelmi, flute
Shannon Spicciati, oboe
Jennifer Nelson, clarinet
Mona Butler, bassoon
Rodger Burnett, horn
Emilie Choi, violin
Betty Agent, viola
Brian Wharton, cello
Steve Schermer, double bass

Program

Nonet No. 2, H 374 - Composed by Bohuslav Martinů
I. Poco allegro
II. Andante
III. Allegretto

Nonetto, op. 38 - Composed by Louise Farrenc
I. Adagio - Allegro
II. Andante con moto
III. Scherzo vivace
IV. Adagio - Allegro

Program Notes

Mozart makes one want to sing. Haydn inspires us to dance. The music of Mendelssohn transports us to far-off lands of make-believe and fairy tales. The music on this program by French composer Louise Farrenc and Czech composer Bohuslav Jan Martinů is perfectly splendid: soothing harmonies and contagious melodies run rampant in these luxurious chamber works.

The genre of the nonet is relatively obscure yet filled with musical treasures. A nonet consists of nine instruments and often a combination of wind and stringed instruments. In the two works on this program the ensemble consists of a woodwind quintet plus violin, viola, cello and double bass. Music Director Wesley Schulz conducts.

Louise Farrenc was a well-regarded pianist and outstanding professor at the Paris Conservatory in the 19th century. A contemporary of Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, and Brahms she composed mostly for piano and chamber ensembles. Her Nonet was one of the most well-received works despite a lifetime of sexism that likely tampered her overall success. Thankfully, today her music is in wide resurgence around the world. Bohuslav Jan Martinů is one of Czech’s most famous and prolific 20th century composers. Martinů mostly composed in a neoclassical vein though with a freer approach to form. Martinů’s Nonet No. 2 was composed in 1959, the last year of his life, and is breezy and untroubled in spirit. Join Music Director Wesley Schulz and musicians of the Auburn Symphony Orchestra in this perfectly splendid program of rare musical gems.