KC ensemble presents ‘the most brilliant chamber music piece that we can think of’

Dante once wrote, “From a little spark may burst a flame.”

The Friends of Chamber Music will present a positively combustible program with “Spark of Genius” April 26 at the Folly Theater. The concert will feature the Friends’ two co-artistic directors, cellist Dmitri Atapine and pianist Hyeyeon Park, along with four other superlative musicians, performing works by Mendelssohn, Schubert and Suk.

The Friends decided to call their current season “Brilliance,” which sparked the idea for this particular concert.

“Hyeyeon and I looked at the entire season, our 48th, and thought what is the most brilliant chamber music piece that we can think of right now,” Atapine said. “We both looked at each other and said, ‘the Mendelssohn B-Flat Major String Quintet.’”

A great choice. Mendelssohn’s genius often gets overlooked. Very unfairly, in my opinion. At one time, Mendelssohn was one of Europe’s most revered composers, not only for his own unique and dazzling music, but also for his efforts in reviving the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.

But Mendelssohn’s sterling reputation started to get tarnished when the composer Richard Wagner, out of jealousy and antisemitism, wrote that Mendelssohn failed “to bring forth in us that profound, heart-and-soul searching effect we expect from music.”

Even many classical music mavens who weren’t antisemitic started to think of Mendelssohn as a lightweight, someone who could write delightful fairy music, as in his popular score for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” but could not be relied on for much depth. This is balderdash, as any fair listener to his symphonies and sacred music can attest.

It is true that Mendelssohn was a master at writing music that could be as sparkling as champagne and delicate as a soufflé. But what’s not to like about that?

“I’m sure there are other brilliant pieces out there, but there’s a certain sense in Mendelssohn’s music of the effortlessness of genius and, at the same time, there’s the incredible craftsmanship,” Atapine said. “And so the Mendelssohn String Quintet, which we will be presenting, is in many ways the seed out of which our entire season grew. It captures the idea of brilliance, of effervescence, joy and just love. The love of being together as chamber musicians.”

The program will also include the String Trio in B-flat Major, D 581 by Franz Schubert, one of the most lyrical of composers, and the Piano Quartet in A minor, Op. 1 by Josef Suk, who was the son-in-law of Czech composer Antonín Dvořák.

“The Piano Quartet is Suk’s opus one, it’s his first work,” Atapine said. “It’s really, like, how? How did this man at just 17 years old all of a sudden write this masterpiece out of the blue? And yet Suk’s trajectory is that he flashed like a spark of genius and then, maybe not fizzled out, but he did not rise to the level of a Mendelssohn in the end.”

Park will be at the keyboard for the Suk.

“Hyeyeon is one of the most brilliant pianists I know in the world right now,” Atapine said. “She has such sensitivity toward this particular piece. And then we have these incredible string players with us to deliver joy and brilliance and genius to the audience.”

The other string players taking part in the concert are violinists Stella Chen and Sean Lee and violists Matthew Lipman and Milena Pájaro-van de Stadt.

“Stella is currently the reigning queen of the Queen Elizabeth Competition, winning the violin grand prize in 2019,” Atapine said. “Sean Lee is one of the most remarkable violinists. I personally saw him perform all 24 caprices by Paganini in one single sitting with very few breaks and almost no water.”

Lipman has been praised by the New York Times for his “rich tone and elegant phrasing.” Pájaro-van de Stadt is on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music and has performed around the world, including London’s Wigmore Hall, where she made her recital debut in 2011.

Atapine says that gathering these world-class musicians was no easy task. Coordinating schedules was something of a nightmare, and the hard work is still ahead, when all will gather in Kansas City for intensive rehearsals.

“We’ll actually be rehearsing for about four days before the concert, just going into the dungeon and work and work and work,” he said. “There’s no time limit to our rehearsals. I have done this before with colleagues. We start at 9 a.m. and finish at 8 p.m., and then we’re, hey, what? It’s 8? Maybe we should go get some ribs.”

Much like the solar eclipse. Atapine says that the alignment of these remarkable musicians is a rare stellar event.

“There is a kind of selfless dedication from these incredible colleagues to bring the audience the absolute finest rendition of these works that is also fresh, new and unique,” he said “And it will be unrepeatable because when will we assemble this group again?”

7:30 p.m. April 26. Folly Theater, 300 W. 12th St. $34-$44. 816-766-1096 or chambermusic.org.

Cardinalis — In Our Lifetime

Cardinalis, a professional choral ensemble that also includes choral scholars from William Jewell College, will present “In Our Lifetime” April 28 at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church. The centerpiece of the concert is Trombore’s “How to Go On.”

“Three days before the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down in 2020, Cardinalis performed Dale Trumbore’s moving secular requiem ‘How To Go On’ with Trumbore in residence,” said Anthony Maglione, director of choral studies at William Jewell College and conductor of Cardinalis. “The ensemble was so moved by the performance that we agreed that we would bring the piece back this year and pair it with other works by Dale Trumbore and create both a performance and an album completely dedicated to his brilliant and moving music.”

The concert will also feature a song cycle by Trombore performed by soprano Laura Lowry and pianist Jessica Koebbe.

7:30 p.m. April 28. St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 1307 Holmes St. $10-$25. tinyurl.com/bdjpvjkh.

Musica Sacra — Mozart’s ‘Coronation’ Mass

Mozart lovers, Musica Sacra has a concert for you. Timothy McDonald, artistic director and conductor, will lead Musica Sacra in an all-Mozart program April 21 at Arrupe Auditiorium. The program includes the Litaniae Lauretane, KV 109 and two festive Church Sonatas and the “Coronation” Mass, K. 317. One of Mozart’s most popular sacred works, it acquired its name after it started being used for all imperial Austrian coronations in the early 19th century.

Come early for McDonald’s always-enlightening “live program notes” at 6:45 p.m.

7:30 p.m. April 21. Arrupe Auditorium, Rockhurst University, 1100 Rockhurst Road. Free. rockhurst.edu.

You can reach Patrick Neas at patrickneas@kcartsbeat.com and follow his Facebook page, KC Arts Beat, at www.facebook.com/kcartsbeat.