Johannes Brahms is perhaps the most influential composer of the nineteenth century. His dramatic settings of text with lush sounds in both the choir and accompaniment provide for a fully immersive listening experience. Ars Musica Chorale will present a concert of Brahms’ choral works with solo art song by Brahms’ and his contemporaries. The concert will feature the chorus, our very own Encore Young Artists, and two pianists playing four hand accompaniment, Diana Hughes and Tyler Weakland.

 The two largest choral pieces on the concert are Brahms’ Schicksalslied and Nänie, which include emotive texts that combine Greek tragedies, intrapersonal contemplation, and self realization. These will both be accompanied by our two pianists, which allows for the full richness of the accompaniments to be showcased. The solo art songs presented are written by close friends and colleagues of Brahms, like Robert Schumann, as well as compositional enemies, like Franz Liszt. The variety in these composers’ styles make it possible for every listener to find a piece that will speak directly to them.