BIEDERMEIER CONCERT
Rigorous Simplicity in Music

Funded by Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music as part of the Biedermeier Trio research

Music for Violin, Viola and Guitar

Thai Traditional Music | Sadhukarn (Salutation) from Evening Prelude 

arr. by Suppabhorn Suwanpakdee

L. v. Call (1767-1815) | Serenade Op. 75

W. Matiegka (1773-1830) | Serenade Op. 26

A. Diabelli (1781-1858) | Troisième Grande Serenade, Op. 66

Performers:

Hayne Kim, violin

Suppabhorn Suwanpakdee, viola

Apichai Chantanakajornfung, guitar

Venue

Wednesday 2nd March 2022 at 7pm

Thai-Asian Music Center (TAMC), PGVIM

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Biedermeier, Rigorous Simplicity in Music

In every culture and time period, music has always been a medium of expression that gathers people together. In Thailand, the Sadhukarn, ceremonial music from the beginning of the Rattanakosin era (1782-1851), expresses a bodily or mental salutation to heavenly spirits, inviting and uniting the minds of the people towards one shared belief. In a parallel era in Central Europe, the music of the Biedermeier period (1815-1848) also had a unifying function as it grew out of societal conditions in which the distinction of classes became less pronounced. As the aristocracy declined in power and the middle class grew in prominence, music became a popular and accessible form of entertainment at home. Far from a backwards step in artistic developments, however, the search for a simpler, more natural aesthetic in music and the arts was a response to the tumultuous events that had shaken European history preceding this era; it was a conscious, rigorous move to restore a sense of peace. 

What connections can we find between the Biedermeier period and the contemporary context of our present day? We invoke the spirit of Biedermeier culture – in its search for a simplicity and an elegance that is accessible to all – as a contrast to the turbulent global events and various turmoils of contemporary life that we face. Our concert program will begin with the Thai Sadhukarn as a prelude that dedicates the concert to a new hope for the coming days. We will then proceed with compositions by Leonard von Call (1767-1815), Wenzeslaus Matiegka (1773 - 1830), and Anton Diabelli (1781 - 1858), three quintessential composers of chamber music who lived and worked in Vienna during the Biedermeier period. By performing these works, we aim to promote a deeper understanding of the role and social function that the music of this period has been able to have in the broader musical community, both in the past and today.