The three most familiar members of the chamber music family—winds, strings, and piano—join forces for a program rich in sonorities and cultural variety. Bohuslav Martinů, who inherited the mantle of Dvořák to become the most famous Czech composer of his day, left a huge catalog of chamber music. The Austrian Ludwig Thuille excelled in opera but his chamber music is now making a well-deserved comeback. And Germany’s Ludwig Spohr, one of his era’s greatest violinists, composed prolifically and skillfully for all combinations of chamber ensembles, the nonet is among his finest compositions.

Program

• Martinů Nonet for Winds and Strings (1959)
• Thuille Sextet in B-flat major for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, and Piano, Op. 6 (1886-88)
• Spohr Grand Nonetto in F major for Winds and Strings, Op. 31 (1813)