Gut Instinct: W. A. Mozart and J. Auernhammer

The Gut Instinct Chamber Music Project, now in its second season, is a concert series in the Triangle area which brings UNC Chapel Hill and Duke University’s historical instrument collections together with artists committed to presenting inspired, visceral, historically informed performances of the 19th-century chamber music repertoire. Both the 24-25 and 25-26 season’s programming features music of female composers and their artistic circles. The name “Gut Instinct” is a play on words. In 19th-century Europe, the violin, viola, and cello were strung with (sheep) gut.

All of the artists collaborating with the Pleyel and Graf pianos at UNC-Chapel Hill (built in 19th-century Paris and Vienna, respectively), as well as the Clementi piano at Duke (early 19th-century England) use these gut string materials. The turn of phrase “gut instinct” also refers to the visceral, accessible nature of the musical performances that the artists of this series will be presenting. We want to make “Historically Informed Performance” accessible, relatable, and culturally relevant! We also want to feature these special pianos that are rarely heard by the public, along with great music by female composers which has remained lesser known to the greater public for far too long!

The November 14 concert will feature the violin and piano sonatas of W.A. Mozart and Josepha Auernhammer performed by Nicholas DiEugenio and Mimi Solomon.