Vaughan Williams     Phantasy Quintet for Two Violins, Two Violas and Cello  [listen]

David McCarroll and Jennifer Elowitch, violins; Carol Rodland and Dov Scheindlin, violas; Susannah Chapman, cello

Brett Dean        String Quartet No. 2, “And Once I Played Ophelia” (2013)  [listen]

Tony Arnold, soprano; Harumi Rhodes and Katherine Fong, violins; Dov Scheindlin, viola; Peter Stumpf, cello

Brahms     Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano  [listen]

Diane Walsh, piano; Todd Palmer, clarinet; Peter Stumpf, cello

We open our second weekend with the elegantly expressive Phantasy Quintet by Vaughan Williams, a “hidden gem” of the chamber music repertoire. Brett Dean’s riveting 2013 work for soprano and string quartet, based on texts from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is “an examination of what remains in our memory and understanding of [Ophelia’s] secondary, yet utterly pivotal role.” We conclude with the great Brahms Clarinet Trio: introspective, romantic, and sublime.