No sweeter sound than the cello

David Popper: Requiem for 3 Celli and Piano, Op.66

Nadia Boulanger: 3 Pièces for Cello and Piano
I. Modéré 
II. Sans vitesse et a l'aise
III.Vite et nerveusement rythmé

Lili Boulanger: Deux Morceaux for Cello and Piano

Aleksandr Borodin: String Trio in G minor

Robert Schumann:  Piano Quintet Op.44
I. Allegro brillante
II. In Modo d'una Marcia. Un poco largamente.
III. Scherzo. Molto vivace — Trio I — Trio II
IV. Allegro ma non troppo

Date: May 10th, 2023
​Time: 7:30pm
Location: First Congregational Church Webster Grove
Address: 10 W Lockwood Ave, Webster Groves, MO 63119
Admission: Free

Concert Artists

Davin Rubicz / Cello

Eva Kozma / Violin

Yin Xiong / Cello

Peter Henderson / Piano

Xi Zhang / Viola

James Czyzewski / Cello

Joo Kim / Violin

David Popper: Requiem for 3 Celli and Piano, Op.66
David Popper (1843-1913) was born in Prague, Czech Republic. He was a cello virtuoso from a young age, and by the time he was 21 he’d performed as a soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic. He married a pianist by the name of Sophie Menter in 1872, They made a career performing together throughout Europe, although in 1886 they divorced. Popper subsequently began teaching at the Conservatory of Budapest and performed as a cellist with the legendary Budapest Quartet. Popper also performed with Johannes Brahms on more than one occasion. Popper was also a prolific composer of works for cello. The Requiem for 3 cellos and piano was originally written for 3 cellos and orchestra in 1892.


Nadia Boulanger: 3 Pièces for Cello and Piano
Juliette Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) was born in Paris, France. Her father, who was 72 years old when Nadia was born, was a professional composer and pianist. He won the top prize for composition, Prix de Rome, from the Paris Conservatory when he was only 20 years old. Nadia followed in his musical footsteps and would try multiple times throughout her life to win the same prize. Her mother was a Russian princess and was a talented vocalist.

When Nadia was only 9 years old she officially entered the Paris Conservatory. She studied composition with Gabriel Faure and also took courses in harmony, solfège, organ, and piano all while attending classes on Catholicism to deepen her understanding of her chosen religion. Nadia completed her studies at the conservatory in 1907 and furthered her career in teaching and performing. She had her first professional conducting appointment in 1912. Nadia’s career engagements took her all over Europe and the United States. Her methods of teaching harmony and composition became legendary, and her influence reached many of the most famous composers and musicians of the 20th century. These students included Daniel Barenboim, Elliott Carter, Aaron Copland, John Eliot Gardiner, Philip Glass, Astor Piazzolla, Virgil Thomson, and George Walker. (Brown, B. 1974 and Cook, L. 2002 “American Students of Nadia Boulanger”https://www.nadiaboulanger.org/nb/amstudents.html). Nadia’s Three Pieces was originally written for cello and organ. The work was composed about 1914. War had started in Europe. Nadia wasn’t able to perform or conduct, but she continued to teach privately, compose, and collaborate with her sister on charitable war contributions.


Aleksandr Borodin: String Trio in G minor
Alexander Borodin (1833-1887) was born in St. Petersburg, Russia as an illegitimate child to a nobleman and a young married woman.

Borodin was adopted by one of the nobleman’s serfs and was considered a serf himself until the age of seven, when his birth father set him free. From this point Borodin went to live with his mother, whom Borodin thought of as his Aunt. Thankfully, they were well provided for by Borodin’s nobleman father, and Borodin was given an excellent education.
Although Borodin is known today for his musical compositions, he studied chemistry in school and went on to have a very successful career as a research chemist and professor. He was even a surgeon for a brief period of time. He finally began taking formal composition lessons in 1862 and married a pianist in 1863. However, Borodin was always a chemist and physician first and a composer in his free time. Even so, Borodin met with quite a bit of success as a composer during his lifetime. He was known to be part of a famous group of Russian composers called “The Five”. His major works, In the Steppes of Central Asia and Prince Igor, which contains the famous Polovetsian Dances are still performed today. Borodin’s composition style even influenced French composers Debussy and Ravel.

Borodin’s string trio was an early work that predates his serious studies in composition. It wasn’t published until the mid-20th century.


Lili Boulanger: Deux Morceaux for Cello and Piano
Lily Boulanger (1893-1918) was born in Paris, France. She is the sister of Nadia Boulanger and like Nadia, showed immense musical talent from a young age. By the time she was 5 years old, Lili would accompany Nadia to her classes at the Paris Conservatory. At one point during her education LIli was taking lessons in music theory, organ, piano, violin, cello, and harp!
At the age of 19, Lili won the Prix de Rome for her cantata Faust et Helene. She was the first woman to ever win this prestigious award.
Sadly, Lili was experiencing many health issues by this time in her life. She had suffered a bad case of pneumonia at the age of two that left her weakened throughout her life. She died at the young age of 24 but only after composing a large library of works and leaving a lasting impression on the musical world.
Deux Morceaux for cello and piano was originally written as two separate pieces for violin and piano. The first is Nocturne written in 1911, and the second piece is Cortège, written in 1914.
Robert Schumann (1810-1856) was born in what is today considered Central Germany. He was the youngest of five children.
His father was an author and a bookseller and Schumann’s exposure to music and literature at a young age had a lasting influence throughout his life. Although he initially intended to study law he was encouraged by his piano teacher, Friedrich Wieck, to pursue a career as a concert pianist. Unfortunately, early on in his career Schumann experienced great discomfort in his hand that forced him to curtail his career as a performer and turn solely to composition. Modern scientists think the discomfort was actually a form of dystonia.

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Robert Schumann:  Piano Quintet Op.44
Schumann married Clara, the daughter of his piano teacher in 1940.
They had eight children together and also shared a life of musical collaboration. Clara was an accomplished pianist herself and an inspiration for Schumann. After he married Clara, he started composing for a wider variety of instruments. By the end of his life Schumann had composed a large library of works including ballets, chamber music, lieder, piano pieces, concerti, and symphonies.

In 1953, Johannes Brahms was traveling through Düsseldorf and introduced himself to Robert and Clara Schumann with the help of a letter from their mutual friend Joseph Joachim, a famous virtuoso violinist of the time. The Schumann’s were so impressed with Brahms abilities as a composer that he was invited to stay with their family for months. He would remain a devoted, lifelong friend to both Robert and Clara.

In 1854, Schumann tried to commit suicide. He had suffered from depression and delusions for many years, and they had increased to a point at which he was unable to bear. Although he survived his attempt at suicide he was subsequently voluntarily admittied to a mental hospital. He would live out the remaining two years of his life at the hospital with only one final visit from Clara days before he died.

Schumann wrote his piano quintet during the year of 1842 in which he also wrote string quartets, a piano quartet, and a piano trio. Before this time Schumann had not written any serious chamber music, and it is interesting to ponder if his marriage to Clara in 1840 may have inspired him to do so. He dedicated the piano quintet to Clara, and she was supposed to perform the piece at its premiere. However Clara became sick right before the concert, so Felix Mendelssohn stepped in to play the piece instead!