0410 - Ariel Concert Series

The Trout Quintet

Schubert: Das Forellen Quintett / Trout Quintet D. 667 Op.114

I. Allegro vivace
II. Andante
III. Scherzo: Presto
IV. Andantino-Allegretto
V. Allegro guisto

About the Program

In 1819 Franz Schubert composed the Piano Quintet in A major, otherwise known as the Trout Quintet. He was only 22 years old. Sadly, it wasn’t published until a year after his death in 1828. His official death certificate states that he died of typhoid fever, but there is some speculation that he died of syphilis. Even though his life was short, he composed a large library of works. He wrote seven symphonies, operas, song cycles, solo piano works and a huge amount of chamber music. His music was well respected but had only a small following of supporters during his lifetime. After his death his music grew in reputation thanks to composers such as Mendelssohn, Schumann, Liszt, and Brahms who promoted performances of Schubert’s music.
The Trout Quintet was unique for its time. Quintets are usually written for piano and string quartet (two violins, viola, and cello), but Schubert wrote the Trout for piano and one violin, viola, cello, and bass. “Trout” became a nickname for the quintet because the fourth movement is a set of variations based on a song for voice and piano that Schubert wrote in 1817 called The Trout (Die Forelle in German). Schubert chose a poem by a German poet, Christian Frederich Daniel Schubart, that was indeed about a trout being caught by a fisherman. However, the moral of the poem was to warn women to be careful around young men!

Many of Schubert’s compositions are widely known, but the Trout Quintet has perhaps had the most attention from mainstream media. It was the premise for Christopher Nupen’s 1969 movie The Trout which portrays a quintet of very famous musicians as they perform the piece at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. In the BBC comedy from the 90’s Waiting for God, the fifth movement of the quintet was used as the theme music!

Trout Quintet is quintessential Schubert in style and harmony. The classicism so often present in his chamber music can be heard throughout. However, there are moments of drama that hint at an evolution of ideas. One is left wondering what new directions he would’ve taken had he only lived long enough to turn his developing notions into music.

-Ann Fink

Concert Artists

Nina Ferrigno/Piano
Described by the St. Louis Post Dispatch as "a magnificent pianist," her playing is said to be, “...always precise with superb accentuation and warmth of feeling...”. Nina is a founding member of the Boston-based Calyx Piano Trio which has excited audiences throughout the United States with expressive ensemble playing and brilliant virtuosity. She has appeared in major concert venues throughout North America. She has performed with such ensembles as the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), with whom she was a core member since its inception until 2007. Her festival appearances include those at Tanglewood, Banff, Norfolk, and the Skaneateles Festival. She has also appeared at the Carolina Chamber Music Festival and Missouri Chamber Music Festival where the Calyx Piano Trio holds residencies. Ms. Ferrigno is a graduate of New England Conservatory of Music, where she received degrees with distinction. Her principal teachers were Wha Kyung Byun and Randall Hodgkinson. As a long-time member of the AUROS Group for New Music and member of the Calyx Piano Trio, Ms. Ferrigno is committed to bringing classical music to new audiences and expanding the repertoire by working with organizations including the Barlow Foundation to commission and perform new works in a variety of settings. The New Music Connoisseur has said of her, “pianist Nina Ferrigno [brings] out the inherent horizontal logic...all the while imparting sonic beauty from end to end.” Her chamber music recording of Lansing McLoskey’s “Tinted” was released by Albany Records in 2008 and her 2010 recording of Elliott Schwartz’s Chamber Concerto III: Another View for the BMOP Sound label was described as “wonderfully musical” by Fanfare magazine. Along with clarinetist and husband Scott Andrews, Nina is Director of the Missouri Chamber Music Festival in St. Louis, and appears regularly with Chamber Project St. Louis.

Autumn Chodorowski/Violin
After spending three years as a violin fellow with the New World Symphony in sunny Miami, FL, Autumn Chodorowski has finally returned to her roots in the great Midwest. She is the Principal 2nd violinist of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, as well as Assistant Principal 2nd violin in the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from The Glenn Gould School studying with Paul Kantor, a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University Bienen School of Music studying with Almita Vamos, and an Artist Diploma in Chamber Music from San Francisco Conservatory of Music studying with Ian Swensen. Her first violin teacher, however, was her mother, Lisa Chodorowski, who started her at the age of three, and to whom she could not be more grateful.

Autumn has been a fellowship recipient at the Tanglewood Music Centre, Aspen Music Festival, Round Top Music Festival, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, National Orchestral Institute, National Repertory Orchestra, Music Academy of the West, and Spoleto Festival USA. She has enjoyed a thriving career in chamber music, having played alongside the Pacifica Quartet, Geoff Nuttall of the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Robert DeMaine of the LA Philharmonic, and pianist Jeremy Denk, in association with SFCM and Music Academy of the West. In addition, Autumn loves to teach, and currently serves as assistant faculty at the Stringwood chamber music camp in Lanesboro, Minnesota.

Laura Reycraft/viola
Laura Reycraft received her Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance from The Cleveland Institute of Music in 2003 as a student of Jeffrey Irvine and Lynne Ramsey. In 2005 she earned her Master of Music diploma from the University of Maryland College Park where she studied viola with Daniel Foster and Michael Tree and Suzuki Violin Pedagogy with Ronda Cole. Laura has participated in a number of music festivals including Tanglewood Music Center, Spoleto Festival USA, Sarasota Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival and School, and the New York String Orchestra Seminar. She has played as substitute with National Symphony Orchestra and is currently a regular substitute with the Saint Louis Symphony and an active freelancer in the St. Louis area. Ms. Reycraft is a string faculty member of the Community Music School of Webster University and City Academy and maintains a private teaching studio. Laura is an Artistic Director of Chamber Project.

Jun Seo/cello
Dr. Seo received a Bachelor of Music Degree from the New England Conservatory School of Music in Boston in 2009. He received a Master’s of Music Degree and a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Music Performance from the University of Texas at Austin studying under Professor Bion Tsang. At the same time, he was a teaching assistant for Professor Tsang and a faculty member at the UT-String Project for three years. Dr. Seo received full scholarships to attend the Heifetz International Music Institute, StonyBrook Summer Music Festival, Killington Music Festival, and Colorado College Music Festival. He also was a cello faculty member at Omaha Conservatory of Music Summer Institute, String Orchestra Camp at Webster University Community Music School, Chamber Music Encounter at Webster University Community Music School, Austin Chamber Music Center, Songbird Rising String Camp at Austin, Assistant Director at Texas Strings Camp Young Artist Division and he also was a cello instructor at various public schools in Austin area.

Dr. Seo has studied cello with Jin-kyung Chee, Hee-song Song, Laura Blustein, and Yeesun-Kim. He also played in Cello masterclasses of Brinton Smith, Laurence Lesser, Alexander Baillie, Ralph Kirshbaum, Peter Wispelwey, Lynn Harrell and Anner Bylsma. He has collaborated with artists such as David Ying, Phillip Ying, Mark Fewer,Yehonatan Berick, Lynn Chang, Thomas Landschoot, Sheila Browne, and Christof Huebner. In the summer of 2009, Dr. Seo performed alongside the Cappella Choir of Seoul Theological University in their European tour. In the summer of 2014, he toured several European countries such as Switzerland and Scotland with the Austin Eurythmy Ensemble. Recently, Dr. Seo recorded the cello part for “Learning Together: Sequential Repertoire for Solo Strings or String Ensemble Volume 2 by Laurie Scott, Winfred Crock and William Dick”. He has maintained a full private studio since 2007. Dr. Seo joined as cello faculty, Traditional and Suzuki, at Webster University Community. Dr. Seo joined as cello faculty at University of Illinois at Springfield as well as University of Illinois at Springfield Community Music School in Fall 2019.

Brendan Fitzgerald/Bass
A San Diego native and avid disc golfer, Brendan Fitzgerald joined the St. Louis Symphony in September 2019 after spending two seasons with the Seattle Symphony. During this time, he performed on numerous recording projects with Ludovic Morlot, including the recent commercial releases of Marc-André Dalbavie’s Cello Concerto, John Luther Adams’ Become Desert, and Berlioz’s Requiem.

Fitzgerald began his musical studies in elementary school on piano and trumpet before discovering the electric bass in eighth grade. He played in multiple punk, metal, and acoustic folk bands before deciding to devote himself more fully to the study of orchestral literature, studying with Travis Gore, a current member of the Seattle Symphony. After some time in the San Diego Youth Symphony, he attended Interlochen Arts Academy as a senior, before pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Double Bass Performance at Northwestern University. In 2012, he enjoyed a revelatory summer at Domaine Forget, where he worked closely with renowned pedagogues Paul Ellison and David Allen Moore. He then attended the Aspen Music Festival in 2016 and 2017 as a fellowship recipient, performing alongside members of the Pittsburgh, Dallas, St. Louis, and San Francisco symphonies.