Works for flute, viola and piano shine during rush hour | Arts & Entertainment | hpherald.com

Jul 01, 2025

Wilfred Farquharson, who performed with Tim Hagen and Christopher Guzman at the Rush Hour Concert at St. James Cathedral on June 24, 2025.

Summertime brings special musical offerings, including the Rush Hour concert series presented by Classical Music Chicago.

This past week, the concert featured three works for an unusual chamber combination: flute, viola and piano. Flutist Tim Hagen, violist Wilfred Farquharson and pianist Christopher Guzman brought three lesser-known works to life in a charming concert that left you wanting to hear more from this unusually constructed trio.

The concert opened with the music of Maurice Duruflé (1902–1986), his Prélude, Récitatif, et Variations, composed in 1928. The opening was muted with Guzman creating mystery and suspense on the piano before Farquharson introduced a yearning melody for the viola, bringing a rich and expressive sound. Hagen’s flute was airy and compelling. The interplay between flute and viola was well done and when the former had music with agitation the latter complemented it with heightened drama. The piano always offered clarity, even in its most rapid passages.

There were some moments that seemed like a warm summer breeze and others where the flute introduced an introspective element. As the end approached, the music gathered steam as well as a hint of antagonism for the dramatic conclusion.

This was followed by a charming short work by Mexican composer Eduardo Angulo (b. 1954). His Sonata for Flute, Viola and Piano opened with the flute offering a rustling sound rather like a cat’s purr. The music was multifaceted with the melodies moving from easy amiability to almost military aggression. The flute was the lead player for most of the work, providing admirable sound with the viola and piano lending understated yet clear support.

Near the conclusion the flute sang an almost pastoral melody that was quietly hypnotic before a kind of musical belligerence took over with Hagen expressing this with a tinge of harshness and anger. All three players affected the heat of the ending with flair.

The major work on the program was by Leo Sowerby (1895–1968), an under-rated 20th century composer who worked for the better part of his life in Chicago. In fact, from 1927 to 1962 he was organist and choirmaster at St. James, where this concert was held. Sowerby won the Pulitzer Prize in music in 1946, he taught many composers, including Florence Price and Ned Rorem, and he earned the nickname “Dean of American church music.”

Hagen, Farquharson and Guzman selected Sowerby’s Trio for Flute, Viola and Piano to close out the concert. It is in four movements and displays the composer’s interest in music outside the classical tradition — the second movement has ragtime influences and the third might have been partially inspired by African-American spirituals.

The opening, marked “Wayward, Dreamily” begins quietly and does proceed as if a dream. Both flute and viola seemed to paint dreamscapes that were otherworldly and at times fanciful. Hagen was assertive in the following movement, “Brisk and Pert,” while Farquharson offered stylish pizzicato and Guzman provided nicely phrased high piano lines. Together, all three players gave the music the right sense of being taut without being nervous. The exciting flights of fancy for the flute were well executed, followed by a perky moment for the piano and blustery work for the viola. The movement ended on a snappy note.

“Slowly, in a Lyrical Vein” began with pretty, song-like music for the viola, which Farquharson shaped wistfully. He gave the music a gorgeous lyrical quality with moments of sadness interspersed with dignity and quiet power. He let the elusive quality of the music speak for itself. There was graceful piano sound while the flute contributed poignancy.

The final movement, “Fast and Light,” found all members of the trio playing with a kind of lightness that creates a pleasing atmosphere. The mood is hard to categorize yet you could identify pep and laughter layered into the texture. The trio sounded bright but not brash, and at times sentimental, but never cloying. They scampered to a joyful conclusion with both bounce and playfulness. It was a rewarding performance.

Before the concert, Robbie Ellis of WFMT interviewed Hagen. The flutist noted that all three works were written when the composers were young. He observed that the Duruflé had harmonic influences of Debussy and that the Angulo had a cinematic quality in its atmospheric writing. In describing the Sowerby work, Hagen said, “he is trying every trick in the book!” It was interesting to learn that Hagen himself is a composer and that he recently premiered his own flute concerto with the Dubuque Symphony, where he serves as principal flute.

This concert is available for viewing online for free at the Classical Music Chicago YouTube page. Most Classical Music Chicago concerts, including those in the popular Dame Myra Hess series, are available here, making this channel a cornucopia of great music right at your fingertips.

The concerts carry on through until August 19, starting each Tuesday at 5:45 p.m. and continuing, without intermission, until 6:30 p.m. A brief pre-concert interview with one or more of the performers takes place at 5:15 p.m. This all happens at St. James Cathedral, 65 E. Huron St.

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Plenty of sunshine. High 82F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph..

Clear skies. Low 69F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.

Updated: July 1, 2025 @ 6:59 am

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