(Above: Detail of Chamber Music Amici poster by Pontrelli)

By Randi Bjornstad

Chamber Music Amici has been part of the music scene in Eugene for 15 years, and this year they are presenting two performances of a special program that honors Johannes Brahms’ 190th anniversary.

Brahms, who was born in 1833 and died just a month before he would have turned 64 years old, is characterized as one of the leading composers of the Romantic period, having composed a wide variety of music, from symphonies to chamber works, songs, and piano pieces. His father, Johann Brahms, was a double bass player, most notably with the Hamburg (Germany) Philharmonic Orchestra. His mother, Christiane Nissen, was 17 years older than his father and once his housekeeper, worked as a seamstress.

Composer Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Johannes Brahms was the second of their three children and a musical prodigy from an early age, playing piano by age 7 and composing by age 12. He also helped to support his family’s straitened circumstances by playing piano in local bars. His star began to rise in 1853, when he was shortly out of his teens, and his travels to perform brought him into contact with many well-known musicians of the period, including Robert Schumann and Franz Lizst. It was Schumann who persuaded a publishing house to print Brahms’ compositions. But Brahms in his personal life was also known for his rather unpleasant personality, eccentric manners and style of dress, but also for generosity for those he liked and admired.

Musically, he especially admired Ludwig van Beethoven but was less enthused about Lizst and Richard Wagner. Brahms health began to decline precipitously in 1896, and he died the next year of liver cancer, which also had caused his father’s death.

Among his many and varied compositions, Chamber Music Amici will perform his Piano Trio in B Major, Op. 8, and Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115, described as a study in human emotions.

The musicians include Sunmi Chang, violin; Eunhye Grace Choi, piano; Wonkak Kim, clarinet; Lillie Manis, viola; Steven Pologe, cello; and Sofie Yang, violin.

Chamber Music Amici celebrates Johannes Brahms’ 190th anniversary

When: 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 10, and 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 11

  • At 2:15 p.m. on Sunday and 6:45 p.m. on Monday, Terry McQuilkin will give pre-concert talks about the composer and his works.
  • After performances, audience members will be treated to desserts from Sweet Life Patisseries to commemorate Brahms’ 190th anniversary.

Where: Wildish Community Theater, 630 Main St., Springfield

Tickets: $32/$40/$42/$45 — special offer of $5 tickets for students and their accompanying adults (except rows A and K); tickets available at the door or online at wildishtheatre.com

Information: chambermusicamici.org