Prometheus Trio Says Goodbye To Its Violinist

Prometheus Trio

Duo and trio chamber music from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries and a farewell to a favorite player are all part of the season-opening program performed by the Prometheus Trio on Monday, Sept. 18.

The concert is the last for Margot Schwartz, the Trio’s violinist since the 2015-16 season. She will be sorely missed, according to Trio pianist Stefanie Jacob. “Each person we’ve played with over the years has brought out something different in us,” she said. “Margot has been a great match. She is full of ideas, and she challenged us.”

The audience will have a special opportunity to appreciate Schwartz’s talents as she performs the Sonata in A major, Op. 100, by Johannes Brahms. Brahms wrote the sonata in 1886 while summering in Switzerland. Inspired by surroundings he described as “so full of melodies that one has to be careful not to step on any,” Brahms composed multiple chamber works during his stay. The Sonata, in which the violin and piano have equal billing, weaves heartfelt tunes with dramatic elements throughout its three movements, closing with what Jacob describes fittingly as “a sweet farewell.”

Cellist Scott Tisdel and pianist Jacob pair up for Variations on a Slovakian Theme by Bohuslav Martinů. Martinů spent most of his adult life living far from his native Czechoslovakia, and his folk-based works express his deep longing for his homeland. A poignant Slovak folk song, “If Only I Knew,” provides the theme for the duo, written shortly before Martinů died in 1956. Five variations “alternate gorgeous lyricism with folkish dance-like episodes, yet the tinge of melancholy is never far from the surface,” Tisdel said.

With 20-plus seasons under its belt, it is not surprising that Prometheus sometimes chooses repertoire the ensemble has played before. The two piano trios that bookend Monday night’s program, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Maurice Ravel, fall into that category. Jacob explained that each new performance is an opportunity for the ensemble to refine its interpretation. “The markings we’ve made on the music give us an indication of what we did for the last performance,” she said. In rehearsal, the group evaluates and sometimes modifies details.

The two trios on Monday night’s program provide ample opportunity for musical expression. Mozart’s Trio in E Major, K. 542 was written amidst a period of incredible compositional productivity in 1788. Clearly, the pact at which he worked did not compromise quality; of the Trio, musicologist Homer Ulrich declared “Drama, lyric beauty, charm, repose, fire–everything is there.”

The recital’s closing Piano Trio by Ravel was years in the making, completed in a frenzy in 1914 when Ravel anticipated joining the army. Jacob particularly appreciates the evocative first movement and the glowing colors that end the work.

Prometheus Trio performs at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 18, at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, 1584 N. Prospect Ave. Tickets are available online, by phone at 414-276-5760, and at the door. Free parking is available at Milwaukee Eye Care, 1684 N. Prospect Ave.