Artists:
Peter Oundjian, conductor
Joshua Bell, violin
In his first appearances as 2023 artist-in-residence, the one and only Joshua Bell performs Bruch’s First Violin Concerto. The great 19th century violinist Joseph Joachim, to whom the composer dedicated this masterpiece, considered this concerto to be “the richest, most seductive” of all German violin concertos. Bruch’s Violin Concerto has become one of the most legendary works for the instrument and is an exquisite vehicle for Bell’s showmanship. The second half features Mussorgsky’s instantly recognizable Pictures at an Exhibition, a suite of musical paintings inspired by the sketches of the composer’s close friend Viktor Hartmann. The program opens with Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient Carlos Simon’s Motherboxx Connection, the first movement of his Tales: A Folklore Symphony for orchestra; in Simon’s words the motherboxx is “an all-knowing entity that is aware of the multi-faceted aspects of blackness.”
Program:
Carlos Simon, “Motherboxx Connection” from Tales: A Folklore Symphony for orchestra (2021)
Max Bruch, Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor
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Modest Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition (orch. Ravel)
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The Robert Mann Chamber Music Series continues by highlighting musicians from the Festival’s own ranks. Britten’s Phantasy Quartet begins with a march and proceeds with lively pastoral charm. Poulenc is a composer known for his aesthetic of irrepressible good humor; he called his jaunty but complex Sextet “an homage to the wind instruments I have loved from the moment I began composing.” Brahms’ sophisticated Second String Sextet is rich with nostalgia, but sweeps all sadness away in its warm, bright finale.
Program: Benjamin Britten, Phantasy Quartet for Oboe and Strings, Op. 2
Francis Poulenc, Sextet in C Major for Piano and Winds, FP 100
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Johannes Brahms, String Sextet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 36
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Michael Christie, conductor and Music Director Emeritus
Michelle Cann, piano
“Fate, that fatal force” is the driving theme of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, with one of the most brilliant and virtuosic finales in all of music; Music Director Emeritus Michael Christie returns to conduct this mighty symphony. 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient Michelle Cann performs Ravel’s glittering Piano Concerto in G as well as Florence Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement; The Philadelphia Inquirer declared Cann’s recent performance “exquisite in both the Liszt-like technical sparkle and probing humanity of Price’s writing.”
Program:
Maurice Ravel, Piano Concerto in G Major
Florence Price, Piano Concerto in One Movement
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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36
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Orebolo, an acoustic trio featuring Rick Mitarotonda (vocals, guitar), Peter Anspach (vocals, guitar), and Jeff Arevalo (upright bass). The band, comprised of members of the emergent Connecticut rock group Goose. The project has built a faithful following nationwide, specifically after a series of virtual festival appearances in 2020, and an acclaimed performance at Lockn’ Presents FRED The Festival in August 2021. Formed during the height of the initial COVID-19 surge, the three band members shared a home and found comfort in both learning new covers and creatively exploring Goose’s deep catalog acoustically – a feeling they hoped to translate to those listening at home.
Despite the distant threat of rain – “the necessary shadow,” as the composer called it – Brahms’ Second Symphony is a sunny and idyllic work beloved for its rambunctious joy and its balance with that hint of cloud. Eun Sun Kim, a conductor of “assured technical command, subtlety and imagination” (New York Times), leads this program, which opens memorably with the “electro-acoustic soundworld” of Mason Bates’ Rhapsody of Steve Jobs. Gramophone calls Johannes Moser “one of the finest among the astonishing gallery of young virtuoso cellists,” and there is no finer showcase of Moser’s musical prowess than Shostakovich’s boisterous and demanding First Cello Concerto.
Program: Mason Bates, The Rhapsody of Steve Jobs (2021)
Dmitri Shostakovich, Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op. 107
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Johannes Brahms, Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73
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