John Brecher Returns for Beethoven and Shostakovich

Cellist and HSU faculty emeritus John Brecher returns to HSU to play two complete works by Beethoven and Shostakovich in a Guest Artist concert at Fulkerson Recital Hall on Friday, April 24.

Brecher and pianist John Chernoff will play Ludwig von Beethoven’s last cello sonata, #5 in D, written in 1815, at the beginning of what reviewer Harry Downey calls Beethoven’s “last, great period of creativity.” It is the only one of Beethoven’s five cello sonatas to include a traditional slow movement, which Downey writes is “a truly intense and soul-searching Adagio that leads to the complex fugue of the Finale.”

They will also play the Sonata for Cello and Piano by Dimitri Shostakovich, a modern Russian composer. An early work, this sonata in four movements was composed in 1934 just before Soviet authorities began censoring his music. It was written quickly, during a period of emotional turmoil in the composer’s personal life. Reviewer Hubert Culot describes it as “a big romantic piece” that “brims with long, passionate melodies.”

John Brecher is a former conductor of the Humboldt Symphony, soloist with the Eureka Symphony and a founder of the Sequoia Chamber Music Workshop. He has performed major works in the classical repertoire in various European cities. He taught in the HSU Music Department from 1969 to 1973, and from 1990 until his retirement.

The concert begins at 8 p.m. on Friday, April 24 in in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus. Tickets are $8 general, $3 students/seniors from the HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door.

Media: Humboldt State Now