Hear! Here! presents The Beethoven Cycle, Sundays in July
22-year odyssey for violinist Geoffrey Day and pianist Lan Lam.
Violinist Geoffrey Day and pianist Lan Lam will plant their flag on a summit of classical music this July when they perform the complete Beethoven violin sonata cycle.
It will take four concerts over four weeks, beginning Sunday, July 8 at 3 p.m. to complete these 10 masterworks for piano and violin composed by Ludwig von Beethoven.
Their quest to conquer this summit of musical performance began in 1996, when the duo first performed opus. 63, the fourth sonata. Since then, they have performed one after another of these virtuoso works. Last year, with the 10th anniversary of Hear! Here! Society looming, the pair realized they had performed all but one of the duo sonatas for violin and piano. They decided then not only to perform Pianist Lan Lam and violinist Geoffrey Day will be in concert at the Yarmouth County Museum Sunday afternoons in July at 3 p.m. the remaining sonata, but all 10.
Their performance presents a rare opportunity to delve deeply into the works of one of the greatest of all composers.
Day says, “by focusing exclusively on these works, and experiencing them in chronological order, we can tune our ears to the subtleties of Beethoven’s musical language, and better appreciate the development of his harmonic structure and form over time. I can guarantee that your appreciation of Beethoven’s music will be greater if you join us on this journey.”
Beethoven wrote his violin sonatas during a 15-year period (1797 to 1812) in which he composed many of his most famous works.
Day describes each sonata as having “its own wonderful personality.” Perhaps one of the most critical aspects of small ensemble performance is how the instruments play off one another. The smaller the ensemble, the more important is that communication. As husband and wife, Lam and Day bring a level of connection that local audiences have grown to anticipate.
Lam began piano lessons in Weymouth shortly after immigrating to Canada from Vietnam in 1980. She completed her Master of Music degree at the University of Western Ontario. She lives in Florida where she is an adjunct professor of piano performance and music theory at Ave Maria University. Day has a masters degree in music from Michigan State University. He has lived in Florida since 1994, when he accepted a position with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra. He is a member of the Neapolitan Quartet, and a founding member of the Botticelli Quartet, the Aurore Piano Trio and most recently Neapolitan Baroque, an ensemble dedicated to historically informed performance with period instruments. He also performs frequently as a recitalist.