La Cafamore tours the Kootenays - 'In Beethoven's Shadow'
By Contributor
La Cafamore tours the Kootenays with a program entitled “In Beethoven’s Shadow” featuring works of the great master and those who were influenced by him.
To be clear, his influence musically was so massive that virtually any composer after his time would be in the shadow of his greatness. “Any composer, and most classical musicians” says violinist Carolyn Cameron of Rossland. “In fact, every member of this group can trace themselves back to Beethoven through their piano teachers”.
That would include Angela Snyder, who will be on viola this concert but also excels in violin and piano, and pianist Hendrik Mendes.
“It is a favorite pastime of piano pedagogues to link themselves to Beethoven through their piano teachers, as he was not only a performer and composer, but also a prolific teacher”, says Cameron. Even Beethoven sought the guidance of his day’s greatest musicians, moving to Vienna to study with Mozart.
Beethoven’s “Archduke trio”proved to be a bittersweet event in his life, as the performance of this piece was his last as a pianist. His deafness had gotten to a point where it became nearly impossible to do any ensemble work.
The trio was originally written for piano, violin and cello, but La Cafamore will delegate the cello part of the “Archduke” to viola. This is not an uncommon practice for groups where a cellist is not available, and the viola lends itself to the part as many piano trios take advantage of the cello’s upper range which fits nicely into the viola range.
A piece written specifically for piano, violin and viola is German composer Ignaz Lachner’s Trio #4. Why he chose the viola over the standard cello part is anyone’s guess but thanks goodness he did as his works for this combination are some of the best in the classical music repertoire. Lachner himself was one of 3 composer brothers and a virtuoso violinist. He was heavily influenced by Schubert who was a contemporary, and also Beethoven who died when Ignaz was 20.
Rounding out the program, an excerpt from the work “Suite en Trio” by Mel Bonis, a female French composer. “You may ask how a female French composer would be in Beethoven’s shadow, to which I would say the same way that a Canadian classical musician living in the Kootenays is in his shadow. It was a huge shadow, okay?” Cameron laughs.
Written originally for violin, flute and piano, “Suite en Trio” will be adapted for La Cafamore’s current configuration. “There are so many great works by women composers and I feel that they do not have the exposure that they deserve” says Cameron. Mel Bonis certainly experienced sexism and judgement of her work based on her gender, so much so that she signed her work “Mel” to avoid the prejudice that her given name Melanie would bring.
La Cafamore takes their tour to the communities of Kimberley, Fernie, Invermere and Trail.
“Trail is usually the last stop of our tour and our home base” says Cameron. “The Trail United Church has some of the best acoustics in the Kootenays so we always look forward to this concert. And it’s always nice to have the support of the home crowd.”
La Cafamore will be in Trail on Sunday September 8, 2:00 p.m. Admission $20 with advance tickets through the bailey.ca or at the door.
