all ROADS

As a duo we are always looking for interesting ways in which pieces connect to us and each other through time. In the case of “All Roads,” we considered where our medium came from, and where it is going. The concept that a violin and piano work well togetherwas expertly championed by the great composers of the classical era, and it is almost impossible to create a program without paying some sort of homage to the first Viennese School. Mozart was an especially prolific composer of the genre, most likely because he was equally talented on both instruments and had plenty of interest from the residents of Vienna to continue to write for them. It would make sense to have Mozart on this album; All of the Roads lead to Vienna, and specifically to the late 18th century. However, we were more interested in the road less traveled by in this case. We wanted to present composers who were connected to Vienna in increasingly distant ways, like travelers along a long road. The young upstart from Bonn felt like a better candidate, with his one degree of separation. Two degrees for the other German composer who remained
in Germany, but lived during the Romantic heights of Vienna. Three degrees for the Russian of Jewish descent, who lived in Germany but studied in Vienna. Four degrees for the composer who visited once, but remained on the North American continent. One cannot help but imagine generations of people from all different backgrounds living along a road that spans the world, but inevitably lead back to Vienna. 
We always felt that the making of music existed in a non-linear timeline in which past, present, and future are all intertwined. What was current at the time in which a composer wrote a piece immediately becomes a sentiment of their past in real time, which then exists through the future by performers such as ourselves. This idea was the basis of this program “All Roads.” We wanted to explore the evolving musical styles and sounds
that all once went through the cultural Mecca of Vienna. None of the composers that we programmed were Viennese but were heavily influenced by Viennese culture and sound.
Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sonata for Piano and Violin No. 3 in E-flat major opens the program with robust energy and charm while pushing the boundaries of structures and form before his time. Robert Schumann’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No.1 in A minor
takes us through layers of precious colors and implosive emotions that one can only perceive as being trapped in the present state. Alfred Schnittke’s Suite in the Old Style is an homage to the past with his inevitable sense of humor and cleverness that precedes
his time. Amy Beach’s Romance shines with warmth and passion, with a wonderful re-imagination of a genre that was already 2 centuries old by the time she wrote it. Each of the works on this program are connected through time to this eternal city.

Musically yours,
Shea-Kim Duo