poster for 2018 Creative Capitals Disc 6
× The unique cultural identities of each of Music@Menlo’s Creative Capitals are brought into stark contrast on Disc 6, which features music from Paris, St. Petersburg, Berlin, and Vienna. Mozart’s lighthearted Andante and Variations are juxtaposed with Schubert’s stormy Lebensstürme, charting the evolution of the four–hand piano genre from casual, carefree enjoyment to music of great depth and intensity. Similarly, Saint–Saëns’s delightful Piano Trio no. 1 is paired with Mendelssohn's brooding Piano Trio no. 2, which concludes the disc. The West Coast premiere performance of Shostakovich’s Impromptu for Viola and Piano is also captured here for a brief but sweet visit to St. Petersburg.