Program notes

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) was an English composer who played a key role in influencing and defining a distinctly British style of music in the 20th century. He worked anthropologically, traveling around the British countryside to notate the music he found, and this keen belief in native folk song came to permeate his lifetime of work as a composer.

His Piano Quintet in C Minor is part of his "early works," a list of pieces which he later banned from performance because he was ashamed of their immature style. They were eventually released for publication many years after his death, and in 1999 this piece received its first performance in 80 years. The tonal range is shifted down by removing the usual second violin and adding a double bass, a move that gives Vaughan Williams' own instrument, the viola, more prominence. Large Brahms-like textures and romantic melodies drive the piece until a surprisingly quiet and understated finish.

Time stopped at this performance, and there was not a dry eye in the room.

Photos by Caroline Bittencourt