RiverArts® is proud to announce the return of their Chamber Music series. The first concert of the year will be the annual fundraiser hosted by The Newington-Cropsey Foundation in Hastings-on-Hudson.
The concert will feature Arnold Schönberg’s late romantic masterpiece, Verklärte Nacht [1899] in its original version for string sextet. The piece is in one movement, although sections are musically delineated corresponding to the five stanzas of Richard Dehmel’s poem, Verklårte Nacht. The poem inspired Schönberg’s composition and a reading of it will precede the musical performance. This is a rare opportunity to hear the composition in its original sextet form as it is more commonly heard in Schönberg’s expanded version for string orchestra.
Also on the program will be Richard Strauss’ Piano Quartet [1886]. Written at the very beginning of what was to become an indominable career as a composer and conductor, Richard Strauss poured his youthful spirit into this passionate, exuberant piece. It remarkably foreshadows all the drama of his greatest operas, Rosenkavalier and Salome, in a chamber music setting. String lines soar in unison like ensemble voices on the big stage against the orchestral-like intensity of the piano. Yet all the subtle color that Strauss was so famous for in his later years as an orchestrator reveals itself in the most intimate passages.
The Newington-Cropsey Foundation hosts a huge collection of the paintings of Hudson River School artist, Jasper Cropsey. Along with the Gallery of Art completed in the mid ’90’s, the foundation maintains Cropsey’s final home, Ever Rest, on the property. They graciously host an annual Chamber Music fundraiser for RiverArts in the gallery and this will be the first since the pandemic began.
A reception with light refreshments will follow the concert.
Tickets and Further Information:
https://riverarts.org/programs/music/chamber-music-series/
Details:
RiverArts Annual Chamber Music Fundraiser, Sunday November 21, at 1:00pm
The Newington-Cropsey Foundation, 25 Cropsey Lane, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706
