William Shaub and Friends: The "Trout"
Jan. 26-27
The "Trout"
William Shaub & Friends
Merchant & Gould Concertmaster Series
January 26-27, 2022
Knoxville Museum of Art
Sponsored by
Elizabeth M. Koester*
William Shaub, violin
Kyle Venlet, violin
Katherine Gawne, viola
Andy Bryenton, cello
Steve Benne, bass
BELA BARTOK
Romanian Folk Dances
I. Bot tánc / Jocul cu bâtă (Stick Dance)
II. Brâul (Sash Dance)
III. Topogó / Pe loc (In One Spot)
IV. Bucsumí tánc / Buciumeana (Dance from Bucsum)
V. Román polka / Poarga Românească (Romanian Polka)
VI. Aprózó / Mărunțel (Fast Dance)
BELA BARTOK
Selections from “The 44 Duos for Two Violins”
William Shaub, violin; Kyle Venlet, violin
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Piano Quintet in A major, “Trout”
I. Allegro vivace
II. Andante
III. Scherzo: Presto
IV. Andantino – Allegretto
V. Allegro giusto
II. Andante
III. Scherzo: Presto
IV. Andantino – Allegretto
V. Allegro giusto
William Shaub, violin; Katherine Gawne, violin; Andy Bryenton, cello;
Steve Benne, bass; Kevin Class, piano
The use of recording devices and/or cameras is strictly forbidden. Please remember to silence all electronic devices and refrain from text messaging during the concert. Mobile devices may be used to read program notes during the concert.
Programs and artists subject to change.
Poem: The Trout
Die Forelle ("The Trout")
by Christian Schubart
In a limpid brook
the capricious trout
in joyous haste
darted by like an arrow.
I stood on the bank
in blissful peace, watching
the lively fish swim
in the clear brook.
An angler with his rod
stood on the bank
cold-bloodedly watching
the fish's contortions.
As long as the water
is clear, I thought,
he won't catch the trout
with his rod.
But at length the thief
grew impatient. Cunningly
he made the brook cloudy,
and in an instant
his rod quivered,
and the fish struggled on it.
And I, my blood boiling,
looked on at the cheated creature.
"The Trout" was written for voice and piano by Franz Schubert, with lyrics by Christian Schubart. The song’s lyrics were written from the perspective of an onlooker on a riverbank taking pleasure in watching the “happy little fish” swimming in the river. Soon a fisherman arrives and, much to the onlooker’s dismay, catches the trout. Here, Schubert displays his mastery of the genre by using the music to convey the viewer’s emotions—first pleasure in the creature’s freedom and then dismay and anger while empathizing with the dying fish.
