The Vancouver Chamber Music Society opens its 2025/2026 New Westminster Series with a sweeping tribute to the Romantic spirit. Four electrifying soloists—Kevin Ahfat (piano), Sirena Huang (violin), Matthew Lipman (viola), and Nathan Chan (cello)—come together in a rare convergence of musical charisma and expressive power.
This VCMS debut unites them in a program that moves from the intimate to the immense: Rachmaninoff’s Trio élégiaqueNo. 1 sets the stage with brooding lyricism, while Schumann’s Adagio and Allegro offers a moment of radiant tenderness. The concert culminates in the expansive beauty of Schumann’s Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 47—rich with sweeping lines, poetic warmth, and structural brilliance. Together, these works offer a full spectrum of Romantic chamber music—from duo to trio to quartet—revealing not just the depth of the repertoire, but the electric synergy of four distinct voices becoming one. A season-opening performance that promises to stir the heart and quicken the senses.
Program:
- Trio élégiaque No. 1 in G minor – Sergei Rachmaninoff
- Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70 – Robert Schumann
- Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 47 – Robert Schumann
