2nd Thursday Scholarship Concert series closes its 2013 season

The University of Georgia Hugh Hodgson School of Music’s 2^nd Thursday Scholarship Concert series closes its 2013 season with “Romantic and Élégiaque: Chamber Music for Strings and Piano” on April 11 at 8 p.m. in the Hodgson Concert Hall.

The concert, which features university faculty, will showcase seminal late-romantic chamber music compositions by Johannes Brahms and Anton Arensky, as well as Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Trio élégiaque No. 1 in G minor.

“This will be a very intimate evening, involving some of the finest literature that exists for piano and strings,” said David Starkweather, cello professor at the Hodgson School since 1983. “There’s a preponderance of minor, melancholy modes in this program, and that makes for gorgeous, introspective melodies.”

In addition to Starkweather, “Romantic and Élégiaque” features fellow faculty members Levon Ambartsumian on violin and pianist Evgeny Rivkin, both of whom came to the university in 1995 and have collaborated with Starkweather on numerous occasions. Violist Shakhida Azimkhodjaeva will join the trio for Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 2 in C minor.

“The Brahms quartet is a wonderful composition for that instrumentation,” Starkweather said. “One of his true strengths was composing for piano, and the quartet represents one of the true high points of Romantic chamber music.”

Tickets are $18 for the general public and $5 for UGA students and are available at the Performing Arts Center box office, by calling 706/542-4400 or online at pac.uga.edu.

Established in 1980, the 2nd Thursday Scholarship Series offers showcase performances by UGA students and faculty the second Thursday of each month throughout the academic year. Proceeds from individual ticket sales and season subscriptions allow for year-long academic scholarships and assistantships for students and gives donors the opportunity to sponsor individual students of the music school at several levels of giving.

In 2011, the 2nd Thursday series provided scholarships to 30 students based on faculty recommendations, academic achievement and performance ability. The 2^nd Thursday Scholarship Series will resume this coming September.

For more information on the 2nd Thursday Scholarship Series or the Hodgson School of Music, see www.music.uga.edu.