Chamber works by Zwilich and Paulus

Composers Datebook

Synopsis

Chamber music is defined as “music written for and performed by a small ensemble, with one performer on a part.” The website of a Portland, Oregon, organization called Chamber Music Northwest, once added this description: “Music that is inspiring, stimulating and intensely personal.”

On today’s date in 1990, Chamber Music Northwest premiered a quintet for clarinet and strings by the American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwillich, who commented, “In writing chamber music, I am inspired by the electricity of a dialogue among equals. When a performer can be asked to be a brilliant soloist one moment and a responsive partner the next, the possibilities for musical discourse are seemingly endless.”

Today’s date also marks the debut of another chamber work given in the Great Northwest: Partita Appassionata, by American composer Stephen Paulus, a work given its premiere by violinist William Preucil and pianist Arthur Rowe at the 1996 Seattle Chamber Music Festival.

“One of the joys of writing chamber music is that often the composer also knows the performers. So, not only are you writing a work for an intimate gathering of musicians, but for your friends — and that often encourages a deeper and more meaningful musical dimension,” said Paulus.

Music Played in Today's Program

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (b. 1939): Clarinet Quintet David Shifrin, clarinet; Ida and Ani Kavafian, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Fred Sherry, cello; Delos 3183

Stephen Paulus (1949-2014): Partita Appassionata Troy Gardner, violin; Jill Dawe, piano; innova 539