J. Brahms - Sonata No. 1 in G Major for Violin and Piano, Op. 78

B. Martinu - Madrigal Stanzas, H. 297

E. Bloch - “Baal Shem”

all above:
Jack Liebeck - violin
Katya Apekisheva - piano

--- Interval ---

P. Haas - Oboe Suite Op. 17
Nicholas Daniel - oboe
Katya Apekisheva - piano

W.A. Mozart - String Quintet in G Minor K516
Simon Blendis - violin
Jack Liebeck - violin
Simon Oswell - viola
Meghan Cassidy - viola
Richard Lester - cello

Einstein played the tranquil and beautiful Brahms G Major sonata while a schoolboy in Switzerland ; Martinu dedicated the Madrigal Stanzas to him and he gave the world premiere in Princeton; Einstein was President of the Ernest Bloch Society. Jack Liebeck and Katya Apekisheva conclude the violin and piano section of the concert with the “Baal Shem” suite, the mournful “Vidui”, the virtuosic “Nigun” and the scorching “Simchas Torah”.  After the interval we are delighted to welcome Nicholas Daniel, who plays Pavel Haas’ Oboe Suite, which was composed just before Haas died in a concentration camp; this is included as a homage to Einstein’s fight against Nazism. We conclude with the last chamber work in which Einstein is documented as playing before his death, Mozart’s towering G Minor String Quintet.