TRANSCRIPT: August 5, 2020
MID-WEEK MUSICAL INTERLUDES #14

Hi, my name is Melissa Givens, Assistant Professor of Music at Pomona College in Claremont, California, and I'd like to welcome you to “Mid-Week Musical Interludes,” our podcast series featuring an array of glorious new and not-so-new works as recently performed by faculty, guests and students of Pomona College. For more information on the music from our podcasts please visit us at pomona.edu/musicpodcast, and music podcast is all one word.

This week we bring you works by Shostakovich and Beethoven performed by the acclaimed Mojave Trio–Sara Parkins, violin; Maggie Parkins, cello and Genevieve Feiwen Lee, piano. Through music’s ability to express a gamut of emotion, we hear life’s darkest and lightest moments.  We’ll open with the first movement of Shostakovich’s Trio No. 2 in E minor. It begins with ghostly high sounds in the cello, joined gradually by a mournful violin part and somber bass lines in the piano. Written in 1944, this trio probably reflects historical events weighing on the composer. The music is grim but powerful. The ensemble then lifts the heavy cloud with the final movement of Beethoven’s Trio in G Major. Written in his early years, it is filled with fun and games, bringing us all a bit of much needed light and joy.


[Shostakovich Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67
Movement I: Andante – moderato – Poco più mosso

Beethoven Trio, Trio in G Major, Op. 1, No. 2
Movement IV: Finale: Prestissimo]

___________________________________________________________

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE PODCAST


The music for this podcast was recorded in Bridges Hall of Music on the campus of Pomona College, 150 E. Fourth St., Claremont, CA. The Shostakovich is from April 2017 and the Beethoven from February 2020.

Read about the performers:

Mojave Trio: 
Sara Parkins (violin): pasadenasymphony-pops.org/artist/sara-parkins
Maggie Parkins (cello): pomona.edu/directory/people/maggie-parkins
Genevieve Feiwen Lee (piano): pomona.edu/directory/people/genevieve-f-lee