By Randi Bjornstad
Chamber Music Amici will perform twice in April, first on April 10 and again on April 14, but be aware that the locations are different.
On Thursday the 10th, they will play at 7:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Cottage Grove, and on Monday the 14th, they will be at the Richard E. Wildish Community Theater in downtown Springfield.
It’s a bit of an eclectic program, opening with Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57 and then moving on to Colin Pip Dixon’s Chaucer’s The Rooster & The Fox, a sextet for Bassoon, Piano, String Quartet, plus a narrator.
Colin Pip Dixon created Chaucer’s The Rooster and the Fox on commission for Chamber Music Amici, and it had its world premiere on Aug. 31, 2021, played by the chamber group at The Shedd Institute in downtown Eugene.
At the time, Chamber Music Amici announced its premiere performance this way:
“We are excited to finally be presenting the world premiere of The Rooster and the Fox, our commission of Chaucer’s beast fable, composed by Colin Pip Dixon. It is a sextet for piano, strings, bassoon, and narrator. Colin chose to feature the bassoon and wrote the piece for Steve Vacchi, virtuoso bassoonist of University of Oregon School of Music. The narrator will be seasoned Broadway actor Macintyre Dixon (Colin’s father). We think of him as our personal Homer!”
The Shostakovich piece dates to 1940 and is considered one of the defining works of 20th-century chamber music. In announcing the program, Chamber Music Amici describes it this way:
At once bold and introspective, the five-movement work showcases the composer’s remarkable skill at blending classical forms with modern emotion and subtle political commentary. From its stately Prelude to its boisterous Scherzo and serene Intermezzo, the piece moves fluidly between moods and styles, concluding with a gently ironic Finale. Listeners will enjoy its dramatic architecture, moments of playful defiance, and the expressive interplay between piano and strings. The quintet earned Shostakovich the Stalin Prize and widespread acclaim, and it continues to resonate with audiences for its emotional depth, clarity of form, and enduring humanity.
Chamber Music Amici, April 2025
- 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 10, at First Presbyterian Church, 216 S. Third St., Cottage Grove
- 7:30 p.m. on Monday, April 14, at the Richard E. Wildish Community Theater, 630 Main St., Springfield
Tickets: Available in advance at chambermusicamici.org
- Cottage Grove — $25 general admission ($5 for students and their accompanying adults
- Eugene — $35/$42/$45/$47 ($5 for students and their accompanying adults, except rows A and K)
Performers
- Eunhye Grace Choi, piano
- Sharon Schuman, violin
- Tomás Cotik, violin
- Arnaud Ghillebaert, viola
- Victoria Wolff, cello
- Steve Vacchi, bassoon
- MacIntyre Dixon, narrator
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