Brahms on the Bluff: Concert I - Hungarian Dance Fever

David Allen Wehr, Artistic Director Pre-concert Discussion with Benjamin Binder at 2:30 p.m. David Allen Wehr is joined by his longtime duo-piano partner Cynthia Raim for a group of Brahms’s popular Hungarian Dances and Waltzes, along with the original two-piano version of “Variations on a Theme of Haydn.” Wigmore Hall prize-winning soprano Martha Guth and GRAMMY-nominated baritone Randall Scarlata join musicologist and pianist Benjamin Binder for an intimate journey through Brahms' songs, including passionate settings of folk poetry and a revelatory sequence of songs tracing the full arc of Brahms's emotional life. These three artists bring rare depth and expertise to one of the most personal corners of the vocal repertoire, spanning Brahms's youthful longing and heartache to hard-won acceptance of mortality and a celebration of the power of song. Repertoire Hungarian Dances nos.1–6 for Piano Duet Five Waltzes for Two Pianos, op. 39 Variations on a Theme of Haydn for Two Pianos, op. 56b “Brahms: An Intimate Vocal Journey” Performers Benjamin Binder, piano Martha Guth, soprano Cynthia Raim, piano Randall Scarlata, baritone David Allen Wehr, piano