In April 2020, clarinetist Graeme Steele Johnson uncovered an unpublished manuscript of the long-forgotten octet by Berlin-born, Boston-based composer Charles Martin Loeffler (1861–1935) in the Library of Congress. Unheard since 1897, Graeme embarked on a year-long reconstruction, resulting in the first critical edition and subsequent recording of this expansive, kaleidoscopic work. Graeme is joined by American violinist Stella Chen, first prize winner of the 2019 Queen Elisabeth Competition and 2020 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, and members of Chamber Music Charleston for this program, which sheds new light on Loeffler’s influential role at the dawn of American music.

Stella Chen, violin; Graeme Steele Johnson, clarinet; Frances Hsieh, violin; Ben Weiss, viola; Tim O’Malley, cello; Charles Messersmith, clarinet; Eric Sabatino, harp; Zach Hobin, bass.

Mozart Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K.581

Loeffler Octet for Two Clarinets, Harp, String Quartet, and Double Bass