The Valley Concert Society is thrilled to welcome four outstanding musicians from across the continent to the Matsqui Centennial Auditorium on Saturday, January 18, at 7:30 p.m. They will perform three beautiful works from the late Romantic Era.
The concert will open with the Clarinet Trio in A minor by Johannes Brahms. At age 58, Brahms prepared a will in which he made clear that he was retired and would compose no more. Then he travelled to Meiningen where he attended a concert in which he heard the clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld play. He was so inspired that he immediately set to work on this clarinet trio.
Barely two months after he announced his intention to retire, the piece was complete. Brahms himself played the piano in the premier performance of the work along with Mühlfeld and the great cellist Robert Hausmann. He wrote much of the cello part in the higher portion of its range, matching the tones of the cello with the clarinet. A music scholar of the time remarked, “It is as though the instruments were in love with each other.”
Brahms went on to compose three more works that featured the clarinet. A passion for the instrument had clearly been awakened in him.
We are fortunate to have clarinetist Yoonah Kim to bring that passion to life for us. Kim was born in Seoul, Korea, and spent her adolescence down the road from here in Langley. She now lives in New York with her husband, violinist Stefan Jackiw.
Kim has earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees and is working on her doctorate at Juilliard. Her performing career was launched in 2016 when she became the first clarinet soloist in over 30 years to win the Concert Artists Guild International Competition.
Yoonah has performed as a soloist in recital in venues such as Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. She plays regularly with several New York area orchestras as guest principal clarinet. She has appeared in chamber music festivals across the US from Chautauqua in New York to Honolulu, and across the world from Greece to Korea.
Tickets for this concert are available online at www.valleyconcertsociety.com at $32 for adults/seniors and $20 for students. For more information call 604-289-3377.
John Wiebe - President
The Valley Concert Society