Chamber Music Northwest: Universal Harmony: Schumann Piano Quintet

Our summer celebration of the many ways music brings together our shared voices—a confluence of history, culture, past, present, and future—concludes with three exultant jewels of the chamber music repertoire!

We begin with Beethoven’s buoyantly energetic Clarinet Trio, with joy present from its opening notes and his work culminating in variations on a tune that’s become cherished in the opera world, Pria ch’io l’impegno (Before beginning this awesome task, I need a snack).

Il Convegno (The Convergence) is Ponchielli’s equally exuberant union of two clarinet voices—like the confluence of our Willamette and Columbia Rivers—performed by two of the greatest clarinetists alive today: our Artistic Director Emeritus David Shifrin and the New York Philharmonic’s Anthony McGill.

Our festival grand finale is Robert Schumann’s soaring Piano Quintet—one of the most unifying and thrilling chamber masterpieces ever written. Don’t miss this jubilant culmination of our 56th Summer Festival!

Sponsored by the Dameron Family in Memory of Bill. (1942–2025)