For the convenience of concertgoers 

the Garden Cafe remains open until 6:oo pm.

The use of cameras or recording equipment during the 

performance is not allowed. Please be sure that cell phones, 

pagers, and other electronic devices are turned off.

Please note that late entry or reentry of

the West Building after 6:30 pm is not permitted.

Music Department

National Gallery of Art

Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue nw

Washington, DC

Mailing address

2000B South Club Drive

Landover, md 20785

ivuw.ngfl.gov

The Sixty-fifth Season of

The William Nelson Cromwell and F. Lammot Belin

Concerts

National Gallery ofArt

2,622nd Concert

Inscape Chamber Music Project

Sarah D’Angelo, violin

Evan R. Solomon, clarinet

Kacy Clopton, cello

Danielle DeSwert, piano

May 20, 2007

Sunday Evening, 6:30 pm

West Building, West Garden Court

Admissionfree
Program

Performed without intermission

Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978)

Triofor Piano, Violin, and Clarinet (1932)

Andante con dolore, con molto espressione

Allegro

Moderato

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Clarinet Trio in Bflat, op. 11 (1798)

Allegro con brio

Adagio

Allegretto

Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)

Quartetfor Clarinet, Violin, Cello, and Piano (1938)

Massig bewegt

Sehr langsam

Massig bewegt—Lebhaft

The Musicians

Founded in 2004, the Inscape Chamber Music Project quickly captivated

dc area audiences with unique and exciting programs. The ensemble’s

members regularly perform with the National, Philadelphia, Virginia, and

Richmond symphonies and the Washington Opera Orchestra, and they

belong to premiere Washington service bands. Inscape is currently the

ensemble-in-residence at The Episcopal Church ofthe Redeemer in Bethesda. 

Information on upcoming performances by the group may be obtained

by visiting www.inscapechambermusicproject.org.

Violinist Sarah DAngelo received her bachelor ofmusic degree in violin 

performance from the Peabody Institute ofthe Johns Hopkins University,

where she studied with Yon Ku Ahn and Herbert Greenberg. She then earned

her master ofmusic degree in violin performance and Suzuki pedagogy from

the University of Maryland, studying with Ronda Cole. DAngelo teaches violin

at the Norwood School in Bethesda and is a principal player with the Inscape

Chamber Music Project.

Clarinetist Evan R. Solomon has premiered over twenty original works,

many ofwhich were composed for him. He attended the Peabody Institute

and the University of Maryland, studying with the late Anthony Gigliotti and

Loren Kitt, respectively. Solomon is principal clarinetist and bass clarinetist

with the Inscape Chamber Music Project, and he performs chamber music

with many oftoday’s noted young performers.

Kacy Clopton is a senior at the University of Maryland School of Music. 

She began studying cello at age five and is currently under the tutelage of

Evelyn Elsing, as a recipient ofthe Dean’s Scholarship as well as the Agnus

Bailey Cello Scholarship. Clopton recently won second prize in the 2007

University of Maryland Concerto Competition, and this past summer she

won the Concerto Competition at the Brevard Music Center. She will be 

pursuing a master of music degree at the New England Conservatory in the

fall. She is an active chamber musician and performs frequently in Maryland, DC, and Virginia.

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Pianist Danielle DeSwert was bom in Brussels, Belgium, and is currently

a music program specialist for the National Gallery ofArt. As an opera coach

and repetiteur she has worked with the Ash Lawn Opera Festival, Baltimore 

Opera Company, New Orleans Opera Association, and the Chautauqua,

Indianapolis, Kentucky, Portland, San Francisco, Sarasota, Washington

Concert, and Washington National operas. She has performed locally at the

Arts Club ofWashington, the Jewish Community Center ofGreater Washington, the Kennedy Center, the Mexican Institute ofCulture, and the Russian

embassy. DeSwert holds a master ofmusic degree in accompanying and

chamber music from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

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Program Notes

Bom in 1903 in Tbilisi, Armenia, Aram Khachaturian is considered by many

to be the most prominent figure in twentieth-century Armenian culture. An 

active member ofthe Union of Soviet Composers, his colleagues included

Prokofiev and Shostakovich. As the first composer to internationalize Armenian music, Khachaturian drew heavily upon native material such as peasant

songs and used urban folk instruments, integrating these traditional components with contemporary musical language and compositional techniques. His 

Triofor Piano, Violin, and Clarinet, written in 1932—the year in which he was

accepted into the Union of Soviet Composers—was noticed by Prokofiev, who 

recommended that it be premiered in Paris. A standard three-movement trio,

it is improvisatory in nature, with complex melodic and rhythmic interplay.

The piece is characteristic of Khachaturian’s work, and the sounds ofArmenian music can be heard throughout.

Written during Beethoven’s early years in Vienna, the op. 11 trio has an

unusual combination ofinstruments, with the clarinet replacing the violin 

as the soprano voice. This decision was probably made with Joseph Beer, an

Austrian clarinet virtuoso, in mind. Beethoven later prepared an alternative,

in which a violin is substituted for the clarinet. The opening ofthe first

movement presents all three instruments in unison octaves, broadly stating

the first theme. Even this early in his career, Beethoven was experimenting

with new harmonic relations, evident in the unexpected beginning ofthe

development section. The middle movement, Adagio, is the lyrical gem of

this work; a simple melody is played first by the cello, then embellished and

elaborated by each instrument, and finally brought to a quiet, calm conclusion. For the third and final movement, Beethoven chose one of his favorite 

forms, the theme and variations, and used a tune from a contemporary

opera that was popular in Vienna. He gave one variation to the piano alone

and one to the other two instruments without the piano; however, he did

not stray far from the theme.

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One ofthe most prolific composers ofinstrumental music in the twentieth

century, Paul Hindemith practiced what he preached: to be a consummate

musician, one must be able to wear all hats—to teach, conduct, perform on all

types ofinstruments, and write for all types of audiences. His expert writing

for a wide range ofinstruments was derived from his experience ofplaying 

them. Though he is often labeled an atonal composer, this is, in fact, not the

case. Deeply invested in the classical and romantic traditions, Hindemith used

them as a basis for the natural evolution oftonality, never entirely entering

the realm ofpure atonality. In this quartet, the clarinet lends a mellow quality,

and Hindemith's romantic education is evident harmonically as well as

formally. The first two movements are clearly written in ternary (aba) form,

the first incorporating three themes, and the second adding variations to

the first theme upon its return. The last movement is less structured and

flows (sometimes abruptly) from one section to the next.

Program notes by Danielle DeSwert

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Next Week at the National Gallery ofArt

Brian Ganz, pianist

Chopin, Three Mazurkas, op. 59

Liszt, Selections from Consolations

Debussy, Estampes

May 23, 2007

Wednesday Afternoon, 12:10 pm

East Building Auditorium

C/3

No concert on Sunday, May 27