Vive la France! The February Salon spotlights two French composers of the later Romantic era: Camille Saint-Saëns and Gabriel Fauré. My preconcert introduction will explore the importance of chamber music for these composers and the activities of the Societé Nationale de Musique (the National Society of Music), an organization in which both Fauré and Saint-Saëns were active and which aimed to promote French music.

I’ll also offer a snapshot of the life of Reynaldo Hahn, who was born in Venezuela but lived most of his life in Paris. A composer, singer, conductor, and music critic, Hahn studied with Charles Gouonod and Jules Massenet at the Paris Conservatoire, and took private composition lessons with Saint-Saëns.

Program: Hahn, Venezia for tenor voice and piano; Saint-Saëns, Piano Quartet No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 41; Fauré, Elegie in C Minor, Op. 24 for cello and piano and Piano Quartet No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 15.

Artists: Benjamin Hoffman (violin), Jonah Sirota (viola), Sarah Kim (cello), Xiao Chen (piano), and Jon Lee Keenan (tenor)