Photo: Prometheus Trio - Facebook
Prometheus Trio
Prometheus Trio
I met with Stefanie Jacob and Scott Tisdel of The Prometheus Trio over coffee to learn a little about how they determine their programing. “This year is different insofar as we have a different violinist for each concert and our programs are affected by our guests. We definitely consult with them on the program.” And while they usually try to avoid playing more than one piece per composer in a given season, this year they are offering two by Mozart and two by Brahms. Jacob confirmed their choice of compositions is always done in conjunction with their guests.
They also consider how the compositions on a given program will best work together. “Typically, the one that’s ‘most substantial’ is saved for the second half of the program,” she said.
For the 2023–‘24 Season at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, all but the first program has guest string players. For their opening concert on Sept. 18, Margot Schwartz, the third member of the trio, and Jacob will play Brahms’s Violin Sonata in A Major, Op 100. It was a joint decision to start the season with exciting sonata.
Traditional trios by Mozart and Ravel are also on the program along with the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů’s Variations on a Slovakian Theme. This is one of Tisdel’s favorite pieces, serious music and the last chamber music composition written by Martinů. It is for piano and cello.
South America, Eastern Europe
Iison Lovera, a Venezuelan violinist, now with the MSO, joins Jacob and Tisdel for their next concert on Dec. 4. Lovera suggested “Tango Trio” by the Uruguay composer Miguel del Aguila, a new piece to the trio. She also suggested Copland’s Vitebsk, which is springs from a Jewish folk song in S. Ansky’s play The Dybbuk. Tisdel said that this is a challenging piece for string players since it involves quarter tones to achieve the Eastern-European atmosphere of the shtetl. Trios by Beethoven and Dvorák fill out the program.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
Their third concert is on Feb. 5, 2024. In a previous preview, Jacob volunteered that planning the program is a cooperative effort and that the trio enjoy finding new material as well as playing the classics. She and Tisdel have been married for 37 years so I asked if they each get one vote on trio pieces. They laughed and reminded me that musical selections are always by consensus of all involved.
Their daughter, Emmy Tisdel, will join them as guest violinist on this program, playing Paul Moravec’s Mood Swings. They will be joined by Georgi Dimitrov, a violist with the MSO, for Brahms Piano Quartet in G minor, Op 25. A Haydn trio will fill out the program.
The Prometheus Trio has been resident at the resident at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music for more than 20 years. I asked if their programming has changed over the years—if there’s now a different mix from the early days?
Jacob and Tisdel replied that the original decision to mix the more familiar with lesser-known pieces as well as the old with the new has worked out well. They also like to select pieces that are challenging for them as well as the audience, however, the majority of a program is always listener friendly. They’ve considered offering theme-based programs or programs featuring a single composer but with a limited season of four concerts they felt they didn’t have that luxury. As Tisdel pointed out, “The MSO has 18 different programs this year.”
Their final program on May 13 is with guest violinist Yuka Kadota, and guest violist Robert Levine, both from the MSO. They will perform Mozart’s Divertimento for String Trio, K. 563. Q. Tisdel said this was a piece all three looked forward to playing. “It is long and difficult; one I haven’t played since I was a graduate student.”
The concerts take place in the Helen Bader Recital Hall of the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. It is now their music salon and was originally a ballroom in the McIntosh-Goodrich Mansion on Prospect Avenue’s “Gold Coast.” It’s a small hall with a stage at one end for the performers. The plaster work on the ceiling and complementary décor provides an exquisite venue for chamber concerts and the acoustics are superb. For those not familiar with chamber music, this is a unique opportunity to listen to an intimate form of music in a salon-setting as if you were royalty living centuries ago with the Prometheus Trio in your personal employ.
For evening concerts, complimentary parking is available at Milwaukee Eye Care, 1684 N. Prospect Ave., one block north of the Conservatory.
The concert begins at 7 pm. Tickets and further information can be found at https://www.wcmusic.org/.
