Duke Arts Presents: Manhattan Chamber Players

The Manhattan Chamber Players bring together accomplished soloists and ensemble musicians, combining their talents in a flexible line-up that brings fresh vitality to chamber music. Their diverse instrumentation allows for adventurous programming and dynamic performances.

They present a duo of piano quintets here, each inhabiting vastly different musical worlds but sharing an emotional weight. Though separated by nearly a century, Brahms and Weinberg both turn to the form of the piano quintet as a means of wrestling with grandiose emotions and narrative, creating a powerful dialogue across time.

Brahms's Piano Quintet is a cornerstone of Romantic chamber music, refined and elegant in its approach. 'What inner strength, what richness,' wrote Clara Schumann of the quintet's early drafts. In stark opposition, Weinberg's Piano Quintet evokes a dark psychological landscape, shaped by the trauma of the Second World War, offering reflections on suffering and resilience.

Program
Brahms: Piano Quintet, in F minor, Opus 34
Mieczslaw Weinberg: Piano Quintet, Opus 18