The Eastern Music Festival kicks off its summer season this evening in Greensboro. When you think of a classical music festival, you probably picture a superstar soloist on stage in front of an enormous orchestra. But music performed in small groups (typically anywhere from two to eight musicians), known as chamber music, is also performed every Monday night throughout the month of July.
Internationally acclaimed violinist Jeff Multer directs EMF's chamber music series. He performs as concertmaster and violin soloist as well, but he says chamber music performance offers something unique to musicians and audience members alike.
“All of the composer's genius is concentrated right there on the stage between three or five or two people. But it's just unbelievable to watch the amount of energy and magic that happens in that tiny concentrated amount of people and space.”
In chamber works like Mozart's "Piano Trio in E major" that Multer and his colleagues will perform on Monday, the violinist, cellist and pianist communicate amongst themselves, silently, without a conductor. Multer describes it as a kind of E.S.P. that's very exciting for audiences to experience live during performances.
Another composer who mastered the art of chamber music was Antonin Dvorak. His "Piano Trio in F minor" concludes tonight's program. Multer says the composer had an unbelievable line into everyone's most intimate thoughts.
“He is a great composer of subtlety and is able to do the most subtle things that just really manipulate our emotional reactions so strongly and it's so personal, from the most intimate, tender moments, to probably some of the most powerful and angry stuff he ever wrote.”
Violinist Jeff Multer will perform alongside cellist Julian Schwartz and pianist Marika Bournaki tonight at 8pm on the UNCG campus. The concert begins the 55th season of the Eastern Music Festival.