Summer Winds

This program features pieces from Bax, Milhaud, Ravel, Saint-Saens, Cras, Beethoven.

Arnold Bax was a wonderful pianist but loved writing poetry and composing. He spent a great deal of time in Ireland and made deep friendships. In the 1916 Easter Uprising, several of these friends were brutally executed. The Elegiac Trio composed that Spring was written as a memorial. Beautifully tranquil and dreamlike in nature, it is a gorgeous homage to those whom he loved.

Milhaud was a composer and teacher whose students included Burt Bacharach and Dave Brubeck. Unlike other modernists, he advised, “Don’t be afraid of writing something people can remember and whistle. Don’t ever feel discomfited by a melody.” His Suite, Op. 157b mixes Brazilian rhythms with folk dance and jazz.

Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro premiered at last year’s Festival and is back by popular demand. Sensual and seductive, the piece transports the listener to a land far away.

The Tarantella is often a frenzied dance, but in the hands of Saint-Saëns, this popular form becomes an elegant partnership of spinning and spinning.

Jean Cras was torn between his life as a Naval Officer and his passion for music. The Quintet for Harp, Flute, Violin, Viola, and Cello marries his two loves. In it one hears the waves and the seas as well as the influence of his worldly travels and French Impressionism.

Beethoven was known as having an untamed spirit and when he arrived in Vienna he took the city by storm. He cleverly wrote his Trio for clarinet to please the public and even included a melody from a popular drama, “Before I go to Work.” A “gassenhauer” was a tune that was sung and whistled in the streets, and so Beethoven assured himself instant success, and the Trio was nicknamed forever.

Program:

Elegiac Trio (Bax)
Suite, Op. 157b (Milhaud)
Introduction and Allegro for Harp, Flute, Clarinet, and String Quartet (Ravel)
Tarantella for Flute, Piano, and Clarinet (Saint-Saëns)
Quintet for Harp, Flute, Viol