Program Notes
Creatively Connected: Brahms Piano Quintet

Musicians

Emilie Choi and Sol Im, violin
Betty Agent viola
Brian Wharton, cello
William Chapman Nyaho, piano

Program

Piano Quintet in F minor, op. 34 - Composed by Johannes Brahms
I. Allegro non troppo
II. Andate, un poco adagio
III. Scherzo: Allegro
IV. Finale: Poco sostenuto - Allegro non troppo

Program Notes

In 2020 orchestras and chamber music societies around the world celebrated Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday. His music, ubiquitous on programs, can be heard on stages on a daily basis. It’s hard to imagine classical music without Beethoven’s voice.

Johannes Brahms, composing in the same century as Beethoven, felt the latter’s presence with every stroke of the pen. Beethoven had radically altered orchestral music and all composers after him had to grapple with the high bar he set. As such, young Brahms honed his skills and ideas not in the orchestral genres mastered by Beethoven but in chamber music. Though here too Beethoven left his imprint, Brahms felt more at ease finding his voice as a musical creative while working with smaller musical forces.

In 1862 at the age of twenty-nine Brahms created the first of three different versions of what came to be known as his Piano Quintet in F minor, op. 34. The first version he composed for string quintet: two violins, viola and two cellos. A year later he reworked the music into a piano duet. Not satisfied with either, he finally molded the music into its final piano quintet form: piano, two violins, viola and cello. This version is a masterpiece in its genre.

The work unfolds over four movements and offers a little something for every type of listener. In the opening movement there is angst and tension yet also vivacity and spirit. In the slower second movement one is serenaded with majestic melodies and a soothing musical atmosphere. The third movement pulses with restless rhythms and the finale brings the work to an exalted conclusion. This is 19th century chamber music at its zenith.

Musician Biographies

Emilie Choi an avid chamber musician and violinist. She is the Concertmaster of Auburn Symphony Orchestra and Assistant Concertmaster at the Pacific Northwest Ballet. She is also an active player with Lincoln Center Stage. Emilie holds a Master’s of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Stephen Rose. She also holds a Certificate of Historical Performance Practice from Case Western Reserve University, and Bachelor’s degrees in Music Performance and Speech and Hearing Sciences from the University of Washington. When not playing her violin (which was made the same year Beethoven was born, 1770) she loves cooking, traveling and learning bits of new languages.

Sol Im began her violin studies at age 5 and made her solo debut at Benaroya Hall with Cascade Youth Symphony at age 16. She performed as a soloist with the University of Washington Symphony where she received a degree in Violin Performance. She has served as Concertmaster of UW Symphony and Thalia Symphony and played on King FM radio. Her professional works include those with Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, and is a current member of the first violin section in the Pacific Northwest Ballet orchestra. She is soon to start a teaching studio in Edmonds where she lives with her husband and their one year old son.

Betty Agent is Assistant Principal Viola of the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra and Principal Viola of the Auburn Symphony. She is an active free-lance musician in the Seattle area, and was the long-time viola instructor and member of the Regency String Quartet at Pacific Lutheran University.

Brian Wharton loves playing around the Puget Sound. He plays for Messiah Lutheran church, as principal cello of the Auburn Symphony, and in the Pacific Northwest Ballet. He has appeared on public radio, including KING-FM and KUOW. Mr. Wharton has been featured as a soloist with the Auburn Symphony, Spokane Symphony, Olympia Chamber Orchestra, and the Tacoma Youth Symphony. His varied musical experiences include playing for the 5th Avenue Theater, motion picture soundtracks, video games, such as Halo 2 and Halo 3, as well as back up for artists such as Josh Groban, Smokey Robinson, and Mannheim Steamroller. He has taught at Pacific Lutheran University and maintains an active private studio. His wife, Melinda, and their children, Hailey and Connor, live in Auburn.

William Chapman Nyaho earned his degrees from St. Peter’s College, Oxford University, the Eastman School of Music and the University of Texas at Austin. He also studied at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève, Switzerland. Chapman Nyaho currently serves on the faculty at Pacific Lutheran University and runs his private piano studio in Seattle. Washington. He is also on the summer faculty of Interlochen Center for the Arts. As an active solo recitalist, a member of the Nyaho/Garcia Duo, a chamber musician and lecturer, his passion is advocating music by composers of African descent.