Groupmuse: Rita Dove, Rachell Ellen Wong, & Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata [LIVE]

Rachell Ellen Wong, violin
Eric Zivian, fortepiano

Ludwig van Beethoven – Violin Sonata No. 9 in A major, Op. 47 "Kreutzer"

To introduce Beethoven’s monumental “Kreutzer” Sonata for piano and violin, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Rita Dove shares her poem The Bridgetower, about the virtuosic Black English violinist George Bridgetower, to whom the Sonata was originally dedicated. To all accounts Bridgetower’s premiere performance was stunning. But Beethoven’s frequent fallings out with friends and colleagues was unfortunately no different with his one-time great friend, Bridgetower. After a quarrel, Beethoven rescinded the dedication and bestowed it on the much less appropriate violinist, Rudolphe Kreutzer. Ironically, Kreutzer deemed the piece “outrageously unintelligible” and never played it!

Following Dove’s fascinating introduction, TANK Trust Laureate Rachell Wong and Music Director Eric Zivian take on this epic work on period instruments. Join us for this exciting virtual event!

The livestream will take place at 5pm Pacific.

RSVP for details/livestream link.

$10+ minimum payment to musicians, $3 reservation fee.

About Groupmuse

Groupmuse is a worker- and musician-owned cooperative seeking to uplift artists and strengthen broader community bonds through live, intimate performances of historically-rooted music.