The Knoxville Chamber Music Society’s 2025–26 season continued with a captivating program that drew a sizeable and enthusiastic audience. The performance featured two stalwarts from the chamber music repertoire: Robert Schumann’s Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 47 and Gabriel Fauré’s Piano Quartet in C minor, Op. 15.
One cannot overstate the importance of repertoire choices when building an audience for chamber music. And this concert proved the point. While identical instrumentation was the common thread between both works, the pairing of Schumann and Faure presented a fascinating stylistic juxtaposition – one that allowed listeners to fully appreciate the range of available textures and tonalities.
Schumann, a master at composing for strings and keyboard, showcased his brilliance for thematic development and fugal exploration – all the while drawing us inward with his heartbreaking melodies. Faure, by contrast, wears his heart completely on his sleeve during this passionate and unashamedly emotional work – almost daring us to turn away from the raw vulnerability of his pain.
Knoxville favorites Sean Claire (violin), Joshua Ulrich (viola), and Adam Ayers (cello) – all members of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra – were joined by pianist Ryan Fogg, Professor of Music and Director of Keyboard Studies at Carson-Newman University. The ensemble was tight and confident, as their musical give-and-take created a roadmap for hearing the myriad nuances hidden in these compositional treasures.
Claire is known for the sweetness and beauty of his tone, and rightfully so. He consistently provided the soaring lines that took the ensemble to another level. Ulrich may just have the most resonant viola sound on the planet. His solos in the “Andante cantabile” movement of the Schumann were transportive and as lustrous as one will hear anywhere. Ayers brings the grounding that is so vital to any string ensemble, yet he does so with a gorgeous tone and an accommodating manner that graciously moves the music forward. Fogg impressed throughout with the clarity, strength, and sensitivity of his playing – always being conscious of the piano’s ability to overpower his musical partners—a power he never once abused.
The venue, Westminster Presbyterian Church on Northshore Drive, also deserves mention. It was perfection in terms of its appropriate size for chamber music, the physical beauty of the space, and the supportive acoustics. (Now, if only those pews had a little padding!)
