Coll & Dvorák

Stellar pianist Kirill Gerstein opens this Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival broadcast with a new work called Waltzes Toward Civilization, which the award-winning Spanish composer Francisco Coll wrote especially for him. After the Coll, we have a piece Schubert composed for what was, in 1824, a brand-new instrument. Today, the arpeggione – a kind of cross between a cello and guitar –is virtually unknown. Schubert’s Sonata for Arpeggione & Piano in A Minor, however, remains one of the most lyrical and tranquil pieces in the repertoire. This piece is often played on the cello today; we will hear a gorgeous performance by cellist Paul Watkins and pianist Ran Dank.  Closing the hour, we have the Dover Quartet and their riveting interpretation of Dvorák’s quintessentially Czech take on Americana – the melodious String Quartet in F Major.