Chamber Music

Lotta Wennäkoski

Hele

Lotta Wennäkoski collects words. The Finnish composer is often inspired by languages—by words and the sounds that they make, and how unexpected connections can create new meanings. The word hele, Wennäkoski explains, comes from the Finnish word for an appoggiatura, an accented dissonant note that resolves downwards by step. But Wennäkoski also points to its proximity to another Finnish word:

In Finnish, hele is a special word for appoggiatura, but it’s also very close to the adjective for “bright.” That connection was interesting to me. Since appoggiaturas are already musical material, I wanted to see how I could develop that idea—what kind of texture might come out of it.

Wennäkoski further discovered that in Estonian, hele means light, but in the sense of being gentle or pale, like a light blue, which she says “added yet another shade of meaning.” She was also attracted to the sound of the word, to how it “begins with that light, bright syllable” and how the syllables become their own rhythmic motive. Her chamber orchestra piece Hele translates these phonetic feelings into musical gesture and texture.

Wennäkoski punctuates her works with humor, often through what she calls “little tricks” of instrumentation. Jong (2012–13) pairs a juggler with a chamber orchestra playing egg slicers (which the composer invites us to view as “miniature harps”), while 2016’s guitar concerto Susurrus uses a plastic ruler to onomatopoeic effect. Hele melds the concepts of appoggiatura and brightness through the use of more unexpected instruments: slide and bird whistles.

For Wennäkoski, texture is more than orchestration; it is “the layering, the density” of musical ideas. Hele begins with quasi-unpitched murmurings from the ensemble that are quickly pierced with the unexpected sound of the slide whistle. Echoing this initial slide whistle effect, an ascending motif quickly spreads over the ensemble, creating a dense but ever-dancing texture. The work becomes increasingly frenetic before coming to a sudden standstill as the violins sound an eerie harmonic and the clarinet begins a lyrical solo. The texture becomes sparser as woodwind, brass, and string sections emerge in turn, punctuated by brief rumblings of percussion.

As the music unfolds, its landscape suddenly fills with the sound of birdsong as members of the brass section substitute their instruments for bird whistles. From there the work alternates between a sense of stillness and the energy that marked its opening section; we hear the whistles jostling for attention, air as it moves through instruments, string harmonics, and the return of the original ascending gesture. The piece finally sputters to a stop, filling its space with unexpected sounds and potent silences.

Wennäkoski believes that music can reach “over and beyond itself” to express something larger about humanity—that a chord or a gesture might not mean much on its own, but in the context of a piece it can become evidence of what it means to exist. Through her music she strives to “create moments where things belong together, where a gesture has meaning. And those moments can reach beyond the notes.” — © Kamilla Arku

Ludwig van Beethoven

Cello Sonata in A major, op. 69

Beethoven’s third Cello Sonata, composed in 1807–08, is probably the earliest truly great work written for cello and piano. It was dedicated to Baron Franz Ignaz von Gleichenstein, an able cellist who perhaps commissioned the sonata himself.

Beethoven stresses the independence of the cello in the opening measures, in which it plays a graceful, lyrical melody that the piano answers in a phrase that seems to have picked up its air of resignation. After an exchange of roles, Beethoven begins an energetic transition in the minor whose syncopated melody is derived from the relaxed opening theme. Throughout the movement the piano never overpowers the cello because Beethoven manipulates textures with the greatest care and originality, alternating leading melodies in one part or combining them contrapuntally.

The Scherzo, with its principal theme running headlong one beat before the accompaniment, is a merry chase relieved by a gentler hymn-like phrase, the character of which dominates the Trio. The Adagio cantabile is but a short introduction to the finale; it continues the song-like character of the rest of the sonata. The secondary theme provides a wonderful Romantic moment, especially in the sigh of the cello’s falling seventh, but it is heard only twice each in exposition and recapitulation. Beethoven fills the rest of the movement with prodigious varieties of material developed from the principal theme, which remains at the center of attention throughout. — © Steven Ledbetter

Felix Mendelssohn

Trio in D minor for piano, violin, and cello, op. 49

The piano trio was a common invitation for family music-making in the nineteenth-century parlor, and dozens of composers poured out an enormous volume of compositions in the medium. Yet only a handful of masterpieces resulted. Mendelssohn’s two mature piano trios are the only major works in the genre between those of Beethoven and Schubert (the last of which was composed in 1827) and those of Brahms (beginning in the mid-1850s).

Chamber music played a constant role in Mendelssohn’s childhood; he played piano duets with his sister, and before he was out of his teens he had completed three piano quartets as Opuses 1, 2, and 3, and an unpublished piano trio that has since disappeared. It was not until fifteen years later that he produced the first of his two surviving piano trios, the present one in D minor having been composed in Leipzig in June and July 1839 and revised two months later.

The revision came at the suggestion of Ferdinand Hiller, for whom Mendelssohn performed the original draft of the piece. Hiller had spent some time in Paris, “seeing Liszt frequently, and Chopin every day, so that [he] was thoroughly accustomed to the richness of passages which marked the new pianoforte school.” He thought Mendelssohn’s keyboard figurations were too traditional. Mendelssohn was not convinced. But Hiller pointed out that he need not change the harmonies to add a different kind of arpeggio that might be more interesting to the player while enlivening the effect. In this way Mendelssohn offered something new to pianists while retaining the melodic strength and the overall proportions of the work as originally drafted.

The Trio was first performed in the Gewandhaus on February 1, 1840. After the concert, Schumann hailed Mendelssohn as a “most brilliant” composer, the Mozart of the nineteenth century.

The work attained immediate popularity (which it has never lost) for the appealing directness and warmth of the themes—starting right away with the first tune presented by the cello—and for the even distribution of material among the performers—which makes it a rewarding piece for the three performers to undertake. The piano part, for all its brilliance of conception, is not allowed to overpower the others. Mendelssohn generally has the violin and cello sing in duet, while the keyboard fills out the harmony and varies the textures.

Mendelssohn’s lyricism predominates in the first and second movements. The latter, in B-flat, begins with solo piano, coming across like one of the Songs Without Words expanded into a trio. The minor-key middle section provides new material and varied rhythms. Then in the return to the first section the stringed instruments suggest the vocal qualities of song, even offering a bit of voice-like cadenza as the piano pauses briefly.

The D-major Scherzo scintillates with gossamer fairy music of the kind found in Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, the scherzo of the Octet, or the finale of the Violin Concerto—Mendelssohn at his most delightful.

The finale returns to D minor with an unmistakable suggestion of the opening movement while also containing material that derives from the Scherzo. Mendelssohn then combines moods from the earlier movements of the score, bringing them together in a cathartic apotheosis. — © Steven Ledbetter

David Coucheron joined the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as concertmaster in September 2010 as the youngest musician to hold that position with any major American orchestra. Coucheron has worked with conductors including Robert Spano, Michael Tilson Thomas, Simon Rattle, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Charles Dutoit. He has performed as soloist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Sendai Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra. Coucheron has given solo recitals at Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, as well as in Chile, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Serbia, and Singapore. His chamber music performances have included appearances at Suntory Hall as well as Wigmore Hall and Alice Tully Hall. Coucheron serves as the Artistic Director for the Kon Tiki Chamber Music Festival in his hometown of Oslo, Norway. He is also on the artist-faculty for the Aspen and Brevard music festivals. Coucheron began playing the violin at age three. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, his Master of Music from The Juilliard School, and his Master of Musical Performance from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, studying with teachers including Igor Ozim, Aaron Rosand, Lewis Kaplan, and David Takeno. Coucheron plays a 1725 Stradivarius on kind loan from Anders Sveaas Charitable Trust.

Cellist Rebecca Humphrey Diederich lives and works in the Philadelphia area, where she is an active freelancer performing with many U.S. early music ensembles. Rebecca was introduced to the world of early music while attending Oberlin College. Driven by this newfound passion, she moved after graduation to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and performed as principal cellist of the Lyra Consort for twelve years while also performing with a handful of Midwest Baroque ensembles and orchestras during her continuing studies at the University of Minnesota. She has lived in Switzerland and Australia and has participated in the international music scene, mostly notably with the Kammerensemble Luzerne, Capriccio Basel, and Latitude 37 in Melbourne, Australia. As a Bach specialist, Ms. Humphrey Diederich’s crafting of bass lines, solos, and vocal accompaniment makes her a sought-after ensemble player. Becca’s greatest passion is playing chamber music, with its intimate and collaborative dynamic. She is a founding member of many smaller ensembles, including the Belladonna Baroque Quartet, which has performed extensively in the U.S. and Brazil. The vibrant early musical life of Philadelphia has inspired Ms. Humphrey Diederich to form many chamber groups, including Kleine Kammermusik, Night Music, Sylvan Viols, Franklin Quartet, and Galline.

Cellist Zlatomir Fung burst onto the scene as the first American in four decades (and youngest musician ever) to win First Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition Cello Division. Astounding audiences with his boundless virtuosity and exquisite sensitivity, the twenty-six-year-old has already proven himself a star among the next generation of world-class musicians. Fung served as artist-in-residence with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the 2023–2024 season. Other recent debuts include the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, and BBC Philharmonic. Fung has received many distinguished prizes and awards, including a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship in 2022 and winning the 2017 Young Concert Artists International Auditions. Fung has been featured on NPR’s Performance Today and appeared six times on From the Top. Fung became one of the youngest members on the faculty of his alma mater, The Juilliard School, in 2024. In April 2025 Signum Records released Fung’s debut album Fantasies, a collection of opera fantasies and transcriptions for cello and piano, to enthusiastic reviews. Fung performs on a circa 1735 cello by Domenico Montagnana, which is on loan from a generous benefactor, and the 1696 “Lord Aylesford” Strad, which is on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation.

Yoheved Kaplinsky, piano, began her musical career as a prizewinner in the J. S. Bach International Competition in Washington, D.C. Born in Israel, she studied at the Tel Aviv Music Academy before entering Juilliard as a scholarship student of Irwin Freundlich. She holds master’s and doctoral degrees from Juilliard and continued studies with Dorothy Taubman in New York. Kaplinsky has appeared throughout the U.S. as recitalist, chamber musician, and orchestral soloist. She has given lectures and master classes in the U.S., Israel, and Korea. She joined Juilliard’s piano faculty in 1993 and has served on the faculties of Baltimore’s Peabody Institute and the Manhattan School of Music. In addition to the AMFS, Kaplinsky teaches regularly at summer festivals including Maine’s Bowdoin, Tel Hai International Master Classes in Israel, Texas Conservatory for Young Artists, the Cliburn Institute, and Long Island’s Pianofest. Kaplinsky has adjudicated international competitions including the Cleveland, Rubinstein, Dublin, Cliburn, and Tchaikovsky competitions. In 2003 she received the Presidential Scholars Teacher Recognition Award. In 2006 she was appointed visiting professor at Texas Christian University, and in 2007 she was appointed artistic director of The Juilliard School Pre-College Division. The residency of Yoheved Kaplinsky is made possible by an endowment gift from the Simms Family Foundation. Yoheved Kaplinsky is an artist-faculty member of the New Horizons Program, which is made possible by an endowment gift by Kay and Matthew Bucksbaum.

Timothy Weiss, composer and conductor, has gained critical acclaim for his performances and adventurous programming throughout the U.S. and abroad. His repertoire in contemporary music is vast, including masterworks, recent compositions, and many premieres and commissions. He was the recipient of the Adventurous Programming Award from the League of American Orchestras. Recent engagements include the Arctic Philharmonic in Bodø, Norway; Orchestra 2001 in Philadelphia; Eastman Broadband Ensemble; BBC Scottish Symphony; Britten Sinfonia in London; International Contemporary Ensemble; and the Melbourne Symphony in Australia. In his three decades as music director of Oberlin’s Contemporary Music Ensemble (CME), Weiss has brought the group to a level of artistry and virtuosity in performance that rivals the finest new music groups. During his tenure with the CME, he has helped launch the International Contemporary Ensemble and Eighth Blackbird, as well as mentoring many other leading performers of contemporary music. Weiss is a professor of conducting and chair of the division of contemporary music at Oberlin. He holds degrees from the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, Belgium; Northwestern University; and the University of Michigan. The residency of Timothy Weiss is made possible by an endowment gift from Susan and Ford Schumann.