Program

• VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

  Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis

  1 min note

  One Minute Note

  Derived from a psalm setting created by Henry VIII’s organist, Thomas Tallis, this work of both grandeur and intimacy calls for an unusual three-part ensemble—two string orchestras playing antiphonally, in addition to a solo quartet formed by the leaders of the string section.

• BERG

  Seven Early Songs

  1 min note

  One Minute Note

  Late in his career, Alban Berg orchestrated seven piano-and-voice songs from his teenage years—pleasant music that looks back to the Romanticism of Richard Strauss rather than the experimentalist style founded by Berg’s teacher Arnold Schoenberg.

• INTERMISSION

• SIMON

  An Elegy: A Cry from the Grave

  1 min note

  One Minute Note

  Carlos Simon states that his Elegy, composed in 2015 and characterized by strong lyricism and lush harmonies, “is an artistic reflection dedicated to those who have been murdered wrongfully by an oppressive power; namely Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and Michael Brown.”

• ELGAR

  In the South (Alassio), Concert Overture

  1 min note

  One Minute Note

  On his first trip to Italy, Edward Elgar also enjoyed a blissful stroll in the tiny republic of Andorra. A pastoral scene on the old Roman Way—a shepherd near the ancient ruins of a chapel—inspired this concert overture, whose images contrast the shimmering beauty of the hilly countryside with vast battles once waged by Roman armies.