All three members of the Reveron Trio live far from their native Venezuela and far from each other in the United States. But when they get together to perform, something special happens. “We go home when we meet,” says violinist Simon Gollo, who teaches at New Mexico State University. “We talk about our country. We talk about our dreams. It’s a beautiful project, this trio.”
Simon Gollo, pianist Ana Maria Otamendi, and cellist Horacio Contreras made their debut as the Reveron Trio in Las Cruces one year ago. Otamendi, who teaches in Louisiana, and Contreras, who teaches in Wisconsin, return this week to Las Cruces to perform with Gollo the “Ghost” Piano Trio (Op. 70) by Beethoven, and the Piano Trio No. 1 by the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. In this interview with Intemezzo host Leora Zeitlin, Otamendi noted that the “Ghost” Trio “is a fantastic piece. It has this constant tension and release throughout the [second] movement, very strange diminished harmonies that make the movement sound so incredibly eerie.” She added that the movement contrasts strongly with the “sparking quality” of the two other movements.
Strongly contrasting movements also define the trio by Villa-Lobos, which Contreras said is both “rhapsodic” and very demanding. But “once you figure out how you can work together, it’s very beautiful.” The free concert takes place on Friday, Dec. 22, at 7:30 p.m. at the Atkinson Recital Hall. You can hear a lot more Beethoven, Villa-Lobos, Venezuela, and its famed music program El Sistema – which gave both Gollo and Contreras their start in music – by listening here:
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