Faculty Chamber Music Concert to Showcase Conservatory "Family," Sunday, March 19, 4 P.M., in Finney Chapel Story by Claire Chase
	THE PROGRAM: François Devienne: Quartet I in C major, Op. 73, No. 1 Charles Martin Loeffler: Two Rapsodies (1901) Jean Françaix: Trio pour Hautbois, Basson et Piano (1994) César Franck: Sonata in A major for Violin and Piano		George Sakakeeny, associate professor of bassoon Only at Oberlin can a faculty chamber music recital be as widely ranging and warmly appealing as the concert slated for Sunday, March 19, at 4 p.m. in Finney Chapel. The program will feature collaborations among administrators, returning alumni, new faculty members and long-time Oberlin professors -the Oberlin "family" - in duos, trios and quartets, and will span two centuries of French chamber music. The performance is free and open to the public. "The Faculty Chamber Music Series, now celebrating its sixth season, has evolved into a kind of "familia" tradition, in the sense that we have many guests who are former students, or deans, and who are also very fine players," remarks George Sakakeeny, associate professor of bassoon, departmental chair, and director of the series. Sibbi Bernardsson, newly-appointed visiting assistant instructor of violin and viola "Sunday's all-French program runs the gamut from the late 18th century all the way to 1994, and includes one of the greatest violin works of all time, the Franck Sonata," continues Sakakeeny. "This concert is typical of our series formula for combining old favorites with lesser known works. We've structured this program so that the musical focus is on the final piece of the afternoon--the Franck--the three preceding pieces being lesser-known works for winds, by Devienne, Loeffler and Francaix. Sunday's performance will showcase the work of Sakakeeny, alongside newly-appointed visiting assistant instructor of violin and viola, Sibbi Bernardsson (OC'95). Sakakeeny and Bernhardsson will share the stage with cellist Robert Dodson, dean of the Conservatory, and violist Laura Kuennen-Poper, associate dean/director of career development. Robert Dodson, cellist and dean of the Conservatory "It's great to work with such players," remarks Berhardsson. "They're all wonderful musicians. And the piece, although written for an unusual instrumentation, is a very charming, light-hearted work, totally harmless, and delightful to play." Oberlin guest Rebecca Henderson (OC '85), a former student of oboe professor James Caldwell and now a member of the faculty at the University of Washington at Seattle, will take the stage with two new Oberlin faculty members - Peter Slowik, professor of viola, and Stephen Swedish, visiting instructor of piano accompanying - in the performance of Charles Martin Loeffler's "Two Rhapsodies" for oboe, viola and piano. "The Loeffler is masterpiece in out literature," says Caldwell. "The rhapsodies are based on two horrifyingly beautiful, and quite gloomy poems by Maurice Rollinat. The piece originally had a voice part, but Loeffler evidently discarded it and re-wrote the version we have now, which happens to include the two poems in its score to set the mood and to provide a bit of the thought process behind the instrumental work." David Breitman, professor of pianoforte Henderson will join Sakakeeny and David Breitman, professor of pianoforte, in the performance of Jean Fracaix's Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano. "Francaix was the creator and in some senses the king of the French "cotton candy" style," explains Sakakeeny. "His trio in four movements is incredibly charming and virtuosic, and has about a million notes! It was written in 1994 on a commission from the International Double Reed Society, and became an instant classic in the oboe and bassoon repertoire." Lee-Chin Siow, visiting assistant professor of violin The program will conclude with Cesar Franck's famous Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano, in a performance featuring visiting assistant professor of violin Lee-Chin Siow, and Oberlin guest Svetlana Smolina, a young Russian pianist currently studying at Indiana University. "The sonata was dedicated to Eugene Ysaye, and presented to him as a wedding gift in 1887," remarks Siow, who was graduated from Oberlin as an Artist Diploma student of Roland and Almita Vamos in 1995. This piece is about life, and has all the elements of beginning, struggle, drama, reflective periods, and a touching ending." "Both Lee-Chin and Svetlana are wonderful musicians, and the Franck is, of course, one of the most celebrated chamber pieces ever written for violin and piano. It should be a great finale to this program," predicts Sakakeeny.
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