This program centers on Da Lontano—music shaped by distance, direction, and memory—anchored by a unique collaboration between clarinetist Graeme Steele Johnson and the Balourdet Quartet, recent winners of the Cleveland Quartet Award and an Avery Fisher Career Grant. At its core is Compass, a new clarinet quintet by Viet Cuong written at Johnson’s urging, inspired by the composer’s mother’s refugee journey and reflecting the act of navigating uncertainty, memory, and hope. Framed by reimagined Mozart, Milhaud’s Saudades do Brasil, and Brahms’ iconic Clarinet Quintet, the program traces musical journeys across cultures, styles, and time—exploring how music remembers, transforms, and ultimately finds its way home.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Tema con variazioni from Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331 [arr. Graeme Steele Johnson]
Darius Milhaud Selections from Saudades do Brasil [arr. Graeme Steele Johnson]
Viet Cuong Compass for Clarinet and String Quartet (2025) with Graeme Steele Johnson
Johannes Brahms Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115 (1891) with Graeme Steele Johnson