TGIF, Nov 17, 5:30pm
The Gioioso String Quartet will play music by Mendelssohn, Friday, November 17, at our TGIF Concert. Sanctuary doors open at 5:15 pm and the concert begins at 5:30. The concert is free with donations accepted.
Program:
Felix Mendelssohn (b: 2/3/1809, d: 11/4/1847)
The String Quartet No. 6 in f minor, Op. 80 was the last major work composed by Mendelssohn and it is widely believed to have been composed as a homage to his sister, Fanny. Fanny, a composer and pianist of remarkable capabilities, suddenly died of a stroke in May of 1847. Mendelssohn, upon hearing this sad news also had a stroke that prevented him from attending his beloved sister’s funeral and resulted in him sinking into a profound depression. Heeding his wife’s advice, Mendelssohn stepped away from his exacting performance and administrative schedule to travel with his family to Switzerland where he focused on regaining his physical and mental health by spending his days hiking, drawing and painting the Swiss landscape, and composing this quartet.
The F-minor String Quartet, completed in September 1847, expresses Mendelssohn’s feelings of rage and despair during this time. From beginning to end, it is a turbulent work filled with intensity and passion. Mendelssohn returned to Germany only to experience another stroke and he died within two months at the age of 38.
The quartet consists of 4 movements:
I. Allegro vivace assai
II. Allegro assai
III. Adagio
IV. Finale. Allegro molto
Gioioso!
The volunteer musicians of Gioioso! are dedicated to exploring and performing chamber music from the Renaissance to Modern eras bringing this joyous music to diverse audiences in Santa Fe and Las Vegas. This performance features violinists Flaviano Prosperini and Ari Lê, violist EJ Nelson, and cellist Dina Siegel.
Flaviano Prosperini was born in Rome, Italy and began studying violin at the age of six. He came to Santa Fe in 2011 and currently performs with the eSSO Santa Fe, the Los Alamos Symphony Orchestra, Santa Fe Community Orchestra, and other string groups. He works as a software engineer for the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Ari Lê has been playing with the Santa Fe Community Orchestra since moving to Santa Fe in 2015. He began playing the violin and viola while growing up in New York and continued to play in orchestras and chamber ensembles in Providence, Paris, Boston, and San Diego. He has studied violin with Lucy Corwin, Hisako Resnick, Charles Sherba, Rictor Noren, and Calvin Wiersma. Ari works as a plasma physicist at Los Alamos National Lab.
EJ Nelson, a native of Las Vegas, NM, began playing violin at the age of 10 as part of that city’s Summer Recreation program for elementary students. She earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Boise State University and has performed with the Boise Philharmonic (Boise, ID), Tempe Symphony Orchestra (Tempe, AZ), the Santa Fe Community Orchestra (Santa Fe, NM) and was a founding member of the Littleton Symphony Orchestra (Littleton, CO). She has studied violin/viola with Daniel Stern, William Hsu, Martha Caplin, and Kim Fredenburgh. She recently retired from her profession as a Business Application Systems Analyst.
Dina Siegel has played cello since the fourth grade. She has been in multiple community orchestras in both Colorado and New Mexico, has played with several chamber music groups, and is currently Principal Cellist of the Santa Fe Community Orchestra. She has studied with Jurgen de Lemos, David Noble, Kimberlee Hanto, and Dana Winograd. She is a semi-retired Industrial Hygienist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and currently lives in Santa Fe with her husband Herb.