“Old and New” celebrated at annual concert

Ready to broaden your horizon in music? Then you won’t want to miss Old and New, the fifth concert of the Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble’s 2017-18 season. The concert will be presented on Tuesday, April 17 in downtown Oklahoma City.

 The “old” is Franz Schubert’s perennially-popular, Piano Quintet in A major, D667, The Trout, for piano, violin, viola, cello and double bass.

Schubert (1797-1828) was a prolific Austrian early Romantic composer. This work was written nearly 100 years ago when he was only 22. 

The “new” is a world premiere performance of a striking work by Oklahoma City composer Samuel Magrill, who was commissioned by Brightmusic for this premiere. He will perform Five Bagatelles for Flute, Violin, Cello and Piano.

Magrill is a contemporary American composer and is Professor of Music and Composer-in-Residence at the University of Central Oklahoma. He has composed more than 100 musical pieces for operas, concertos and concerts.

The quartet by Camille Saint-Saëns will fall “somewhere in between.” This quartet was the composer’s second and final foray into the genre; Piano Quartet No. 2 in B-flat major, op. 41 for piano, violin, viola and cello.

Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He was a musical prodigy, making his concert debut at the age of 10.

This performance will celebrate Brightmusic’s annual Mae Ruth Swanson Memorial Concert.

Brightmusic musicians appearing in this performance are Gregory Lee, violin; Mark Neumann, viola; Jonathan Ruck, cello; George Speed, double bass; Mira Magrill, flute; Amy I-Lin Cheng, piano and Samuel Magrill, piano. 

The performance will be on April 17 at St. Paul’s Cathedral, 127 NW 7th Street (at Robinson) in Oklahoma City. Individual concert admission is $20 per ticket. Children, students and active-duty military personnel are admitted free with ID. 

For more information, visit the Brightmusic website at www.brightmusic.org.

The Gayly. April 10, 2018. 9:55 a.m. CST.