Emanuel Ax, Piano
Leonidas Kavakos, Violin
Yo-Yo Ma, Cello
To mark the centenary of Isaac Stern's birth, a present-day dream team—Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, and Yo-Yo Ma—pays tribute to the legendary violinist and the ensembles he anchored, which included pianist Eugene Istomin and cellist Leonard Rose. This all-Beethoven program features an otherworldly cello sonata from the composer’s late period, a gentle violin sonata dedicated to his patron Archduke Rudolf, and an intense trio that helped redefine contemporary notions of chamber music.
Part of: Beethoven Celebration
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Please note that if you purchase stage seating, please arrive one hour before concert time.
There is a limit of 8 tickets per household. Additional orders exceeding the ticket limit may be cancelled without notice. This includes orders associated with the same name, email address, billing address, credit card number and/or other information.
Emanuel Ax is also performing October 15, March 6, March 8, and May 14.
Leonidas Kavakos is also performing October 26, March 6, and March 8.
Emanuel Ax: Also performing , and , and May 1, , and October 31, , and and May 5, 2026.
Leonidas Kavakos: Also performing , and , and May 15, 2026.
Yo-Yo Ma: Also performing , and , and April 24.
Performers
Emanuel Ax, Piano
Leonidas Kavakos, Violin
Yo-Yo Ma, Cello
Program
BEETHOVEN Seven Variations on “Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen” after Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Wo0 46
BEETHOVEN Cello Sonata No. 4 in C Major
BEETHOVEN Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major
BEETHOVEN Piano Trio in C Minor, Op. 1, No. 3
Encore:
SCHUBERT Andante un poco mosso from Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat Major, D. 898
Event Duration
The printed program will last approximately two hours, including one 20-minute intermission.
At a Glance
BEETHOVEN Seven Variations on “Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen” after Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, WoO 46
Written a mere decade after Mozart’s untimely death, this lighthearted work—the last of three sets of variations for cello and piano that Beethoven composed early in his career—is based on Pamina and Papageno’s chastely lyrical duet from the first act of Die Zauberflöte.
BEETHOVEN Cello Sonata No. 4 in C Major, Op. 102, No. 1
Unlike Beethoven’s 10 violin sonatas, all but one of which were written between 1797 and 1803, the five cello sonatas are spread out over nearly two decades. The boldly dramatic Op. 102 sonatas, written in 1815, push the language of Viennese Classicism toward its limits.
BEETHOVEN Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96
Although Beethoven made his reputation as a virtuoso pianist in the 1790s, he learned to play the violin as a child and remained keenly interested in the technical innovations introduced by such violinists as Rodolphe Kreutzer and Pierre Rode. It was with Rode’s tasteful virtuosity in mind that Beethoven wrote his last violin sonata, Op. 96 in G Major, in 1812 after a hiatus of nearly a decade.
BEETHOVEN Piano Trio in C Minor, Op. 1, No. 3
An offshoot of the Baroque trio sonata, the piano trio genre was still in its infancy when Beethoven penned his first renditions in the early 1790s. The three Op. 1 trios—of which the last is decidedly the most adventurous—were designed both to showcase the composer’s own virtuosity on the piano, and to experiment with musical forms and techniques that would bear fruit in other genres.