FSU’s Department of Music to Present West Shore Piano Trio in Faculty-Guest Artist Series Concert

Frostburg State University’s Department of Music will present the West Shore Piano Trio in a Faculty-Guest Artist Series concert on Sunday, Feb. 26, at 3 p.m. in the Pealer Recital Hall of FSU’s Woodward D. Pealer Performing Arts Center. The concert is free and open to the public. This event will also be livestreamed; click the “Join Stream” button on this page a few minutes before the recital is scheduled to begin, or anytime during the recital, to view the live performance.

The West Shore Piano Trio, comprised of Dr. Jay DeWire on piano, Heather Haughn on the violin and Diana Flesner on the viola, will perform “Piano Trio No. 2, Op. 27: ‘Quasi una Ballata’” by Vitĕzslav Novák and “Piano Trio in B-flat Major, Op. 97” by Ludwig van Beethoven.

“Piano Trio No.2, ‘Quasi una Ballata,’” was composed in 1902 when Novák’s allegiance was torn between two musical camps. He was still attracted to the use of folk melody advocated by the older and more conservative generation of Czech composers, but also to the tonal modernism emerging in Europe at the turn of the century. Although the trio is written in one movement, hence a ballad, it nonetheless follows traditional classical structure in that it has four succinct episodes. It begins with an introductory “Andante tragico,” full of pessimism, and though tonally advanced for the time, there are still traces of Moravian folk songs. This is followed by an “Allegro,” which has a heroic theme for its main subject but it too is tinged with a sense of the tragic. Next comes a sarcastic scherzo, “Allegro burlesco.” In the fourth section, the “Andante tragico” is reprised, this time followed by a very dramatic “Allegro” that leads to a somber and funereal coda.

Beethoven completed his “Piano Trio in B-flat Major, Op. 97” in 1811. It is commonly referred to as the Archduke Trio, because it was dedicated to Archduke Rudolph of Austria. Rudolf was an amateur pianist and a patron, friend and composition student of Beethoven, and Beethoven dedicated about a dozen compositions to him. The Archduke Trio was written late in Beethoven’s so-called “middle period.” It follows the traditional four-movement structure with sonata form in the first and rondo sonata form in the last movement. It also allows for a more prominent part for the piano than previous compositions.

DeWire has performed across the United States as a soloist, collaborator and member of the West Shore Piano Trio. Highlights include two performances as a soloist with the Prince George’s Philharmonic and concerts in Chautauqua, Los Angeles and New Mexico with the West Shore Piano Trio. He has appeared in several competitions, received an honorable mention at the Washington, D.C., Beethoven Competition and was a finalist in the American Musicological Society (Mid-Atlantic Chapter) Writing Competition. DeWire has also received numerous prizes, including the Brander Wyatt Morrison Prize and a Dean of Faculty Fellowship at the University of Virginia. He teaches piano and history at FSU.

Haughn enjoys a diverse career as an active chamber musician, orchestral player and teacher. She currently plays with the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, Concert Artists of Baltimore, Delaware Symphony Orchestra, Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, Maryland Symphony Orchestra and the National Philharmonic. She is on the faculty of Goucher College and the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Haughn has performed as soloist and concertmaster with the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Sinfonietta and the San Francisco Concerto Orchestra.

Active as a chamber musician, Flesner was a member of the Cervantes String Quartet for two years. She has participated in the Manchester Music Festival and the Quartet Program at Bucknell and has played in master classes or coached with members of the Pacifica, Miró, Miami, Kocian, Tokyo, Juilliard, Tákacs and Kronos quartets. Flesner served as principal cellist for the University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra and has played with BACH (Baroque Artists of Champaign-Urbana), the Prairie Ensemble, Opera Illinois, Champaign-Urbana Symphony, Peoria Symphony, Illinois Symphony, Annapolis Symphony Orchestra and Fairfax Symphony.

FSU is following CDC guidance based on current area conditions. For current health and safety guidelines, visit www.frostburg.edu/COVID19.

For more information, contact FSU’s Department of Music at 301-687-4109.