Several years ago, I met Rubia Santos at a social event of Hacienda Atenas, the community where we both live. We immediately felt a connection. Rubia is an internationally known concert pianist whose home base is now Costa Rica, where she is on the music faculty of The University of Costa Rica. When her schedule permits, we enjoy coffee together and often share ideas about healthy vegan eating.
Shortly after meeting Rubia, I received an invitation to a concert she and violinist Lourdes Lobo were giving in a private home. The concert was part of a fundraising series they planned in order to record all the Beethoven piano and violin sonatas. That sounded interesting so I went, and I continued to go, including to the most recent concert this past August 31. I have enjoyed them all, but this last one was AMAZING.
The concert took my breath away not only for the violin and piano sonata they played but also for the Brahmstrio for piano, violin and cello.
The setting for the concerts is extraordinary, in an open-air room on the second level of a contemporary house in Santa Ana. The acoustics are excellent and there is the added treat of watching the sunset over San Jose. Sometimes it seems like the clouds are dancing to the music. As the room probably can only handle about 50 people, there is a very intimate feeling to the event. Following the concert there is a lovely reception with hors d’oeuvres and wine.
Rubia and Lourdes met in 2017 when they were adjudicating the Competition for Young Soloists at the University of Costa Rica. Shortly after, they started working together, referring to themselves as The Duo Alma. They promote Latin American music. At the earlier concerts I went to, music of Brazilian and Costa Rican composers was performed along with a different Beethoven sonata] for piano and violin.
Rubia and Lourdes both have outstanding musical careers.
Rubia is currently on the faculty at the University of Costa Rica and has previously taught at universities in the U.S. and Germany. She has a passion for musical pieces of composers of her native county of Brazil, including them in her repertory and often premiering new piano works. She has collaborated with various artists and ensembles and been guest artist in music festivals throughout the world. Here’s a link to read more about Rubia’s extraordinary career.
Lourdes is from San Jose, Costa Rica, and has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Costa Rica with an emphasis in violin. She is a former violinist with the National Symphony of Costa Rica. She worked at Colegio Superior de Senoritas, an interesting high school for women founded in 1888. She has regularly performed in Costa Rica for the past 15 years, and since forming The Duo Alma with Rubia, the pair has toured in Latin America.
For the Brahms trio they were joined by the gifted cellist Ji Yon Shim Anderson, who completed her Doctorate of Musical Arts in 2004 at the University of Illinois, where she was a member of the University of Illinois Graduate String Quartet and a Cello Teaching Assistant. She has been on the faculty of several universities. She holds the highest prize “Virtuosite” by the Haute Conservatoire de Musique de Geneve in Switzerland. She has been a soloist with many orchestras In the U.S., and she is part of the Ko Trio. While in Brazil, Dr. Anderson was invited to be soloist with numerous symphonic orchestras, building a large classical repertory. It was during her time in Brazil that she got to know Rubia. Here’s a link to learn more about Dr. Anderson.
The program opened with The Violin Sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 96, written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1812, published in 1816. According to Wikipedia:
It is described as the loveliest of his violin sonatas, with “calm, ethereal beauty” and “a searching test for the players.” Everything must be right, from the very first trill. The opening trill is an integral part of the subject.
The sonata is in four movements and there are several excellent recordings on YouTube. The piece is nearly a half-hour long and often I found dance images filling my head as the musicians performed. I look forward to getting a copy of The Duo Alma’s recording when it is available. From the opening to the end, I was totally drawn in.
The second piece was Johannes Brahms’s Trio No. 1 in B Major, Op 8, written in 1854 when Brahms was only 20 years old. There is an excellent detailed description of each of the four movements in Wikipedia. I encourage you to check it out along with one of the videos on YouTube. It is a long piece – well over a half hour.
On this evening, more strongly than at any of the other Duo Alma concerts, and particularly during the Brahms trio, I felt like Murray was very much with me and that I was not only listening for myself but for him too. Murray was my husband, who passed away in October of 2020. When we dated in 1963, and during the first two years of our marriage (1964 and 1965), going to concerts was one of the things we loved doing. We attended the Pittsburgh Symphony on a regular basis as well as the YM&YWHA, which had an excellent chamber music series. Many great musicians were guest artists with the Pittsburgh Symphony under the direction of William Steinberg. Because Murray’s father, Joe Tucker, was “the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers” and worked at WWSW, a local radio station, he had passes to the Pittsburgh Symphony and the YM&YWHA. He rarely went, and instead gave the passes to us. We loved going. In fact, in remembering those concerts and doing a little research on William Steinberg, I am inspired to do a separate blog on them.
Each time The Duo Alma has performed, I have left feeling like “my cup runneth over” with musical treats to last me for the next several months when hopefully they will perform again. Thank you, Rubia, Lourdes and guest Dr. Anderson for this stupendous musical experience.
