The Bohemian Spirit of Piano & Strings

Steans faculty member and acclaimed violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt joins the Steans Piano & Strings Program Fellows for a captivating evening of chamber music that highlights the rich traditions of Bohemian composers.

Opening the concert is Dvořák’s Piano Quartet in D major, a work filled with the composer’s signature folk-inspired rhythms. Written in Dvořák’s early years, the quartet brims with exuberance, warmth, and a glowing sense of optimism. A striking contrast follows with Erwin Schulhoff’s String Sextet, a work of extraordinary intensity and modernist edge. Composed in the 1920s, it blends lush textures with bold harmonies, reflecting the composer’s unique synthesis of Czech traditions, jazz influences, and avant-garde experimentation.

The program concludes with Smetana’s Piano Trio in G minor, a work of profound emotional intensity, written in response to the loss of the composer’s young daughter. This work channels grief into a gripping musical narrative.