Thursday 25th June 2026
Carl Maria von Weber Trio in G minor, Op. 63 for Piano, Flute and Cello
I. Allegro moderato
II. Scherzo. Allegro vivace
III. Schäfers Klage (Shepherd’s Complaint or Shepherd’s Lament). Andante espressivo
IV. Finale. Allegro
The only piano trio Weber wrote was completed in 1819 for Piano, Flute and Cello. There is also a version substituting the flute part by violin, which would be a more conventional instrumentation but was published posthumously. The four movement trio is a substantial work with a performance time of 25 minutes or so. One of Weber’s most well known works is Der Freischütz and the finale of the trio shares some of the same music which is probably because these two works were composed at the approximately the same time, though the trio was completed first. The trio is impassioned, with wide ranging dynamics and a good number of romantic tunes with an overall sense of fun – a minor masterpiece that deserves to be heard more often.
Amy Beach Invocation Op. 55
American composer Amy Beach originally wrote Invocation as a miniature for for violin and piano in 1904. However, Beach herself set this for other forces, the best known probably for violin, cello and organ, or that for viola and piano by Courtney Grant and other arrangers. This delicious arrangement for flute and piano works exceptionally well, and Lisa Friend can be heard playing this version here to preview tonight’s performance.
James Horner Original medley
James Horner is one of the most prolific and well respected cinematic composers of the second half of the 20th century and into the 21st. No doubt his score for Titanic for which Horner received an Oscar in 1997 is at least one peak in his musical achievements, but Braveheart, Star Trek II:The Wrath of Khan and Start Trek III: The search for Spock, Gorky Park, Aliens, The Name of the Rose, Willow, The Pagemaster, Apollo 13, Jumanji, A Beautiful Mind, Avatar, to name a very few films with scores by him, give a flavour of his breadth and productivity, and are at least some themes to listen for in Lisa’s new medley.
Claude Debussy Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un faune (flute/piano)
The immediately familiar impressionistic Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un faune was first performed in 1894. In the programme for that performance, Debussy wrote “The music of this Prelude is a very free illustration of Mallarmé’s beautiful poem. It hardly seeks to summarise this poem, but rather to suggest the different atmospheres in which the desires and dreams of Egipan evolve on this burning afternoon. Weary of pursuing timid nymphs and shy naiads, he abandons himself to a voluptuous sleep enlivened by the dream of a desire finally fulfilled: the complete possession of all of nature.” This early performance was for a large ensemble, but the arrangement by Gustave Samazeuilh for flute and piano is now commonly performed.
Originally written as a single movement work for large ensemble with flue solo, inspired by Stéphane (Étienne) Mallarmé’s poem of the same name, the shape of the music lends itself to dance and has been choreographed for ballet, originally for Nijinsky in 1912 by Diaghilev and others subsequently.
Later in this series, we can hear Debussy’s only string quartet – and both of these works show how he was able to take radical new ideas and techniques and produce beautiful music.
Johann Nepomuk Hummel Trio in A major, Op. 78
Originally titled Adagio, Variationen und Rondo über ein russisches Thema, the Austrian composer Hummel wrote this work in 1819 for flute, cello and piano. This, and much of Hummel’s work lost popularity after his death in 1837 because it was considered stylistically unadventurous and old-fashioned. Latterly, the popularity of his works has increased, not least due to the advocacy of the Hummel Society. The trio is a theme and seven variations with the dramatic piano introduction stating the folk tune “Beautiful Minka” right at the start. The tune though cited in the original title as Russian has a more distributed origin being found in Ukrainian, Russian and Yiddish cultural roots, and has been set frequently by other composers, including Beethoven.
Astor Piazzolla Oblivion
Composed in 1983 as a soundtrack for the film Henry IV, Oblivion is has a classical tango structure. It begins in a melancholic mood with a slow moving melody and is elegantly sorrowful throughout; music from the heart.
Leonard Bernstein Candide medley
When Lisa performed for the Festival in 2024, she presented a very popular medley based around the tunes in Bernstein’s West Side Story. For 2026, she has worked the same magic on the tunes from his operetta Candide. Based on the 1759 novella by Voltaire of the same name, Bernstein’s satirically sharp and witty Candide was first performed in 1956 and revised at least three times thereafter. It seems a little odd that the poor reception of the first performance has yielded many familiar tunes to the present day, of course the most famous of these being The Best of All Possible Worlds. The story of Candide is pertinent for all civilisations essentially exploring how happiness and fulfilment is the responsibility of ourselves rather than being overcome with hypocrisy and misplaced optimism that separates one world from another.
Jay Ungar Ashokan Farewell (arr. Leigh Philips as featured on “An American Affair”)
American folk music composer Jay Ungar composed the waltz Ashokan Farewell in 1982. Ashokan is now lost village in New York where Ungar held his fiddle and dance camps. Jay has written that in composing in the form of a Scottish Lament, Ashoken Farewell comes from “a sense of loss and longing” he felt at the end of his yearly Ashokan camps. It occurs in many arrangements: violin with guitar and double-bass; two violins guitar and banjo, and of course here, we end the concert with an arrangement by Leigh Phillips for piano, flute and cello leaving us with another sense of longing!
Have you read our brief chat with Lisa?