DePauw Chamber Players concert features music of love and loss

French and Czech chamber music masterpieces, each written by a broken-hearted composer, form the program to be presented by the DePauw Chamber Players at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 3.

The ensemble -- pianist May Phang, violinist Dan Rizner, and cellist Eric Edberg -- will be joined by their faculty colleague Nicole Brockmann on viola for this intimate concert in the Green Center's Thompson Recital Hall on the DePauw University campus.

Gabriel Fauré's "Piano Quartet in C Minor" opens the program.

"This is a work of extraordinarily broad emotional range with fascinating harmonies, lyrical melodies, and imaginative sound colors," said Edberg, cello professor and coordinator of the string division at DePauw School of Music. "It takes the listener on a journey from deep sadness to mischievous playfulness, and while not necessarily autobiographical, the piece, which was begun in 1876, was composed just as Fauré's fiancée broke off their engagement."

Bedřich Smetana, who often composed with an autobiographical program in mind, was a grief-stricken father when he composed his "Piano Trio in G Minor."

"Smetana's beloved four-year-old daughter had just succumbed to scarlet fever," Edberg said, "and the composer's grief and anger, as well as fond memories, are clearly portrayed in what is one of the most dramatic, powerful and heart-wrenching compositions of the Romantic era."

General admission for this performance by the DePauw Chamber Players at the Green Center for the Performing Arts is $3. Tickets for all students, children, and seniors over 65 are free.

For additional information or assistance, stop by the GCPA box office, located on the ground floor of the Green Center at 605 S. College Ave., or call 658-4817.