Sunday 2pm 14 Dec 2025 Emma Hayes Johnson, Cello & Nusheen Farahani, Violin; POTLUCK dinner buffet 95/46

Sunday 2pm 14 Dec 2025 Emma Hayes Johnson, Cello & Nusheen Farahani, Violin; POTLUCK dinner buffet 95/46

https://www.emmahayscello.com/

https://www.studiomusemusic.com/nusheenfarahani

**PROGRAM 60-75 minutes + 10 minute intermission, extensive program notes far below ...

-Maurice Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Cello
-Caroline Shaw’s in manus tuas for solo cello
-intermission-
-Reinhold Glière’s 8 Pieces for Violin and Cello
-Handel/Halvorsen’s Passacaglia for Violin and Cello.

NEW: see program notes** far below ... 2:35-3pm informal artist discussion with Q&A during buffet ... seated ... optional for attendees ... 3p music begins with only brief statement of name and number of movements.

PotLuck Dinner Buffet 2-3PM & during intermission& following performance. Host will provide two hot hors d'oeuvres & punch for potluck reception during intermission & beginning, when doors open 2pm. Guests are encouraged to bring food/wine to share/potluck; if considering a sweet, think about fruit instead of processed sugar. Music begins at 3pm, please be on time, 2 sets with 1 short intermission, rarely one longer set. Guests most welcome and encouraged to bring dish/drink to share/potluck, please consider bringing wine if you use it. Stemware/Ice Buckets/Filtered Water Provided.

Advance payment REQUESTED (pay thru GroupMuse or the SOLOX PayPal Link) NO CASH at EVENT--illegal in MD. All guests will be seated in Music Room. Accessibility note: 3 steps walkway to entry hall, 30 inch doors inside.

Arrivals 2-2:30pm ...
-potluck dishes dining room
-wine, beverages: bar in galley
-important: coats and bags upstairs please
-arrivals: 2pm for social hour and POTLUCK DINNER buffet
- Artist discussion/Q&A 2:30-3pm PROGRAM NOTES** BELOW
-concert seating opens: 3pm, music begins; 2:30pm for those attending artist discussion
-OK To take food/ wine into Music Studio
-outdoor cats live here
-2 upstairs galleries open, 2 upstairs lavatories, open in addiction to main lavatory rear of studio
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Your safety is paramount: covid vaccinated/booster guests preferred, or PCR tested (honor system). Please consider the newly released Flu and current covid vaccine.

** PROGRAM NOTES ... artist informal preconcert discussion w/Q&A 2:35-2:55pm in music studio: TBD

“Music Shaped by Its Inspirations”

This program traces how composers look back in order to create something new-whether transforming a Baroque bass line, reimagining Renaissance chant, absorbing classical traditions, or being inspired by their contemporaries.

Maurice Ravel — Sonata for Violin and Cello (1920–22)

Ravel wrote this sonata in the years immediately following Debussy’s death, and the dedication reflects a deep sense of loss for a fellow composer who had profoundly shaped French music. Instead of imitating Debussy’s sound, Ravel responds with clarity and restraint, as if searching for a renewed musical voice in the wake of that absence. The sonata marks Ravel’s turn toward a leaner, more transparent style, built on clarity, precision, and bold linear writing.

Caroline Shaw — In manus tuas (2009)

Shaw draws on the 16th-century Tallis motet and the ancient chant “In manus tuas,” stretching that timeless melodic line into a spacious, contemporary meditation. Her writing transforms a centuries-old source into something quietly luminous, using modern textures to reveal the chant’s emotional core. It is a vivid example of how old music can spark new creative worlds when approached with curiosity and reverence.

Reinhold Glière — 8 Duos for Violin and Cello, Op. 39 (1909)

Glière’s duos are infused with the melodic warmth and dance-like character of the Russian and Ukrainian folk traditions that shaped his musical upbringing. Though not based on specific folk tunes, their lyrical lines and rustic energy reflect the Romantic lineage he inherited from Taneyev, Arensky, and the broader Russian school. These pieces show how music can carry the imprint of cultural memory, allowing inherited traditions to resurface in new, intimate forms. They also suggest that inspiration sometimes flows quietly through a composer, surfacing not as quotation but as an unmistakable musical accent.

Handel/Halvorsen — Passacaglia (1893, after Handel 1703)

Halvorsen reimagines Handel’s Baroque passacaglia bass line as a bold Romantic duo, transforming an 18th-century structure into a work filled with drama and drive. Built entirely over a single repeating ground, the piece keeps its lineage unmistakable even as it expands with modern intensity and color. It stands as a striking example of how a contemporary composer can build fresh expressive power on the foundation of an older musical idea.

What's the music?

Emma Johnson

Carl Banner Piano

Attendees

+1

Ivan R.