Charlene Kluegel, violin; Jean Hatmaker, cello; Katherine Petersen, piano

Program

  • Jennifer Jolley (b.1981) - The Lives & Opinions of Literary Cats (2017) (6')
  • Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) - Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8 (1854) (34')
  • I. Allegro con brio
  • II. Scherzo. Allegro molto
  • III. Adagio
  • IV. Finale. Allegro
  • Jennifer Jolley (b. 1981) - The Lives & Opinions of Literary Cats (2017) (6')
  • Jennifer Jolley is a contemporary composer whose works have been commissioned and performed by ensembles worldwide. Founded on the belief that “the pleasures and excesses of music have the unique potential to engage political and provocative subjects,” Jolley seeks to compose music that is “equally enjoyable and meaningful.” Of her 2017 composition The Lives & Opinions of Literary Cats, Jolley writes: “I was asked by the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble to write a piece that imagines the Brahms’s B Major Trio being heard through the looking glass, and all I could hear were cats. Let me explain: there was a time when Johannes Brahms signed his musical works with the moniker “Johannes Kreisler,” a fictitious composer found in E.T.A Hoffman’s novel The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr. In this novel, a printer’s error accidentally splices and mixes the Tomcat Murr’s autobiography—yes, an autodidact cat wrote his own autobiography—with a book about the composer Johannes Kreisler, and the reader has a hard time figuring out who is the cat and who is the composer. And if one cat isn’t enough, at the beginning of Through the Looking-Glass, Alice is playing with her kittens Snowdrop and Kitty, one of which is behaving badly (it’s the black one), right before she steps through that infamous looking-glass. This ultimately begs the question: is this cat music or composer music? Is Johannes Brahms now Johannes Kreisler, or even Tomcat Murr, Snowdrop, or Kitty?”
  • Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) - Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8 (1854) (34')
  • The piece that inspired Jolley’s commission, Trio in B Major, Op. 8, was first composed by Johannes Brahms while in his early 20s and rewritten with major revisions over 30 years later, making it simultaneously one of Brahms’ earliest and latest works. The four-movement trio alternates between B major and B minor, perhaps reflecting both the optimism and turbulence in the early years of his friendship with Clara and Robert Schumann. The first movement opens with a lyrical melody in the cello line contrasted with a rhythmic second theme that astutely replaced an extended melody in the original version of the movement. The Scherzo, almost entirely unchanged from its original version, demonstrates Brahms’ musical maturity even as a young composer, weaving ominous staccato phrases with sustained thematic threads and an expansive warmth in the trio. Following the meditative Adagio, the final movement contains hints of Hungarian folk, battling between explosions of exuberant major and agitated minor sections, and finally concluding, in a surprising departure from classical structure, in a stormy B-minor finale. Program notes by Grace Hudson-Mairet

Brought together by friendship, a shared passion for artistic integrity, and determination to fuse tradition with modern values, Merida Trio combines the bold and dynamic voices of three of Chicago’s finest chamber musicians. Combining 42 years of collective chamber music experience with groups including Fifth House Ensemble, Duo FAE, and Kontras Quartet, Katherine, Charlene and Jean have joined forces to explore the potential of their collaborative energy. With a particular interest in championing music by female composers, they infuse every performance with their celebrated craftsmanship and dramatic flair. Coming off of the success of their debut recital in the fall of 2024, Merida Trio is on track to be a cherished gem in the Chicago chamber music scene with several highly anticipated appearances scheduled for the coming season. Discover more at www.meridatrio.com.

Known for her soulful, expressive playing style, Jean Hatmaker is one of the most versatile and sought-after cellists in the Chicago area with a diverse portfolio of solo and collaborative projects, including several chamber ensembles and regional orchestras across the Midwest. Jean is a founding member of Chicago-based Kontras Quartet, a beloved ensemble known for its well-crafted performances, diverse programming, and accessible audience relations. She appears regularly on the Bach Cantata Vespers Series in River Forest, IL, is principal cellist with the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra, and is a rostered member of Kalamazoo Symphony, Madison Symphony, and the Chicago Philharmonic. Jean received both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Cello Performance from Indiana University, where she studied with Helga Winold and Janos Starker, and plays a modern cello by Lawrence Wilke, using Hill, Bearden, and Arcus bows.

From giving her debut recital of a mostly Chopin program at age twelve to performing some of George Crumb’s most monumental chamber and solo works at the Crumb Festival, a 90th birthday celebration of the famed composer, pianist Katherine Petersen embraces a wide array of piano repertoire. She has been hailed by the Chicago Tribune for having “captured the sense of wonder” and was lauded at her Carnegie Hall debut at age 17 for creating “real music-making– concentrated and deeply felt” by Edith Eisler of Strings Magazine. She is currently pianist for the Merida Trio, the Way Out Ensemble, and Duo FAE,  which is set to release its inaugural CD “Dissidents of the Gilded Age” with Albany Records in the Fall of 2025. She completed her Bachelor’s degree at the New England Conservatory of Music, and her Master’s and Doctorate at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University.

Hailed for her “unsentimental verve, musical feeling and great technical skill” (New York Classical Review), Charlene Kluegel is known for a diversity that transcends traditional boundaries of classical music. An award winning violinist, her performances as a soloist and chamber musician have taken her to the Ravinia Festival’s Bennett Gordon Hall, the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Kennedy Center, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. She collaborated on Patois’s explorative CD of Latin Jazz “Canto America” which was nominated for a GRAMMY – Best Latin Jazz Album. A graduate of the Peabody Conservatory and Cornell University, she earned her doctorate from Indiana University’ Jacobs School of Music as a recipient of the Artistic Excellence Award. She currently teaches at Carthage College and the Zodiac Music Festival and receives ongoing string sponsorship from Larsen Strings.

About the Rush Hour Concerts

The concerts are generously sponsored by the Irving Harris Foundation and partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council.

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