h   Thursday, October 25, 2007 g

At Christ & St. Stephen’s Church

120 West 69th Street, New York, NY

Mysterious Signs/Poetic Inspirations

The funeral procession of Wagner, which took place in the canals of Venice, inspired his father-in-law Franz Liszt to compose two versions of lugubre gondola. Although it is now known principally as a work for piano solo it was transcribed for cello and piano.  It is partnered with the Second Elegie and the enthralling Die Zelle in Nonnenwerth, which is a tribute to the beautiful Isle of Nonnenwerth.  g The tragic death of the great Spanish poet Federico Lorca is the genesis of Poulenc's Sonata for violin and piano (1944). This work pays express homage to Lorca in its middle movement - depicting a weeping guitar - and features not only the music of tragedy but also Poulenc's manic, mocking energy.   g The Seven Romances of Shostakovich are a late work from 1966 for soprano, violin, cello and piano.  Set to texts by Alexander Blok, the songs are entitled Ophelia's Song, Gamayun, the bird of prophecy, We were together, the City Sleeps, The Storm, Mysterious Signs, and Music.

Christ and St. Stephen’s Church is located at 120 West 69^th Street (between Broadway and Columbus). Tickets will also be sold at the door just prior to the concert: $30 (adult) and $15 (students and seniors), requested contribution.

h    Thursday, December 6, 2007 g

At Christ & St. Stephen’s Church

120 West 69th Street, New York, NY

1907: A Year in Music

This program celebrates the 100th anniversary of remarkably diverse works composed in America, Austria, England, France, and Spain, by some of the era's most influential composers.  g The unique tonalities of Ives is heard in Autumn, from the Violin Sonata No. 2.  g   Among the longest of his works - clocking in at 12" - is Webern's beautiful Piano Quintet, which is tinged with romanticism but with a nod to the 12 -tone future as determined by his teacher Schoenberg.  g Although less known today by the general public, Frank Bridge was a celebrated musician and composer, whose Miniatures are comprised of charming dances.  g The famed Scott Joplin wrote several rags in 1907, of which we will hear two, in a new arrangement for clarinet and strings by Stephanie Chase.  g The clarinet is featured again in Ravel's atmospheric Piece in form of a Habanera.  g The Piano Quintet of Joaquin Turina is an early work that marks the start of his success as a composer - its premiere in Paris was warmly received by Falla and Albeniz - and reveals the influences of French Impressionism on the young Spaniard.

This concert will take place at Christ & St. Stephen’s Church (see details above.) Tickets will also be sold at the door just prior to the concert: $30 (adult) and $15 (students and seniors), requested contribution.

h    Thursday, February 21, 2008 g

At Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall

154 West 57th Street, New York, NY

On the Road to Hollywood

During the early and mid-20th century, many prominent European composers - among them Miklos Rozsa, Rudolf Friml, Hanns Eisler, Igor Stravinsky, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, and Arnold Schoenberg - left their homelands seeking relief from political strife and persecution, or in pursuit of better artistic opportunities. A large number of them found their way to the somewhat unlikely destination of Hollywood, where they discovered a thriving artistic community and a burgeoning film industry in need of great musical talents.

 g Rozsa's Sonata for Two Violins is a folksy tour de force, with a compelling rhythmic energy. g In what may be its New York premiere, Friml's brief Piano Trio reveals his love of Bohemia and its tuneful melodies. g Hanns Eisler's name is little known today, but he wrote music influenced by his studies with Schoenberg - including a masterful Duo for violin and cello.  g Stravinsky's delightful Suite for clarinet, violin and piano from The Soldier's Tale is his own arrangement of the more fully orchestrated work. g Born in Florence, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco moved to Hollywood in 1938, where he composed for films and the concert stage. He also wrote a series of Greeting Cards for his illustrious musician friends (and fellow expatriates) that include a Valse on the Name of Gregor Piatigorsky from 1954.  g To close the program, we will perform Anton Webern's adaptation of Arnold Schoenberg's groundbreaking and thrilling First Chamber Symphony.

h    Thursday, April 17, 2008 g

At Christ & St. Stephen’s Church

120 West 69th Street, New York, NY

Noble Visions: The Sound World of Robert Schumann

Despite his history of mental disease, the music of Robert Schumann is characterized by bold idealism and noble purpose.  His friends and colleagues included Johann Kalliwoda and Niels Gade, who were among the era's most prominent musicians.  g This program opens with a delightfully virtuosic Duo for violin and viola by Kalliwoda.  g It is followed by the second piano quartet by a very youthful Mendelssohn, whose compositional style is already well established at the tender age of fourteen.  g A Duo for clarinet and piano by Burgmüller (a composer much admired by Schumann and Mendelssohn) is next.  g The concert concludes with Schumann's own majestic Piano Quartet, Opus 47.

This concert will take place at Christ & St. Stephen’s Church (see details above.)  Tickets will also be sold at the door just prior to the concert: $30 (adult) and $15 (students and seniors), requested contribution.

 - Included in Admission

Thursday, October 25, 2007 - How Vertebrate Movement Patterns Shape Musical Structures by Andrew Warshaw:  Andrew Warshaw proposes a neurodevelopmental terminology for the physical actions of musicians that is comparable to those that are "hard-wired" into other vertebrates, such the intospinal undulation in snakes, two-legged homologous jumping in frogs, and contralateral movement in other mammals. These Locomotion-Encoded Musical Patterns (LEMPS) are intended as technical descriptors of movement content in musical passages.

Thursday, December 6, 2007 - The Music of the Spheres and Its Origins by Stewart Pollens: The historian and musical instrument expert explores the concepts of the "music of the spheres."

Thursday, April 17, 2008 - The Mind of Robert Schumann by Martin Nass: The renowned Freudian analyst (and accomplished amateur violinist) explores the mind of the famed composer.

Transportation: The Christ and St. Stephen’s Church is located at 120 West 69^th Street near Lincoln Center and is convenient to the 2, 3, 1 and 9 subway trains, as well as the M5, M7, M11 and M104 buses. The Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall is located at 154 West 57^th Street near Seventh Avenue and is  near the N, Q, R, or W trains (57th Street); the 1, 9, A or C trains (Columbus Circle) and the B, D or E trains (Seventh Avenue). The M5, M6, M7, M30, M57, and M104 buses stop nearby. 

Tickets: Single tickets at door at Christ & St. Stephen’s Church: $30, seniors/students: $15. Seating is by general admission at Christ & St. Stephen’s Church. For non-subscription tickets to the February 21, 2008 concert at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, you may call Carnegie Charge at 212/247-7800, or visit the Carnegie Hall Box Office at 57th Street and Seventh Avenue in New York City. Tickets may also be purchased online from www.carnegiehall.org.  Please note that  non-subscription tickets for the Weill Recital Hall concert are $35 and $20 (students and seniors), general admission.

Please note that Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall tickets are available beginning two months prior to the concert and that a per ticket surcharge is added to Carnegie Charge phone and internet orders.

For more information about us, visit the Music of the Spheres Society website.

Questions or comments? Call the Society at (212) 877-4402.  Or reach us by email at the Music of the Spheres Society. To remove your name from our mailing list, please click here.