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Richard Strauss, “Four Last Songs” | New arrangement for chamber ensemble, world premiere
March 6, 2022 @ 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
$40
Sunday, March 6 at 4:00pm
St Barnabas Episcopal Church,
2 Revolutionary Road
Ardsley, NY
Tickets: $40
RiverArts Chamber Music Series celebrates the 2022 season with a world premiere performance of a new adaptation for chamber ensemble of Richard Strauss’ Four Last Songs. This work has been commissioned by RiverArts in association with PREformances Chamber Collaborative.
Esteemed New York City composer Paul Brantley adapted Strauss’ original, scored for soprano and full orchestra, for a chamber octet. This new work is scored for soprano, clarinet, string quartet, double bass, and piano. More than a reduction or adaptation, it is analogous to a translation into a new language while at the same time being note for note faithful to the original. According to the New Grove Dictionary of Music, “These autumnal, luminescent late songs… are among Strauss’s finest works in any genre.” They were written in 1948 near the end of Strauss’ life and were not performed until 1950, after his death.
Paul Brantley is a contemporary composer much in demand. In addition to his own compositions, he has made a specialty of these kinds of adaptations. “I relish the opportunity to have a creative encounter with such a great work — and with the extraordinary poetry of Hermann Hesse which Strauss sets. My modus operandi is not so much to (re-) arrange the work but to adapt it as faithfully and idiomatically as possible.”
Also on the program are Brahms’ Clarinet Trio and Stravinsky’s Suite from A Soldier’s Tale.
About the Artists
Composer Paul Brantley’s compositions have been performed or commissioned by, among others, The Knights (at Tanglewood, BRIC, Dumbarton Oaks and Naumburg Concerts), Minneapolis Guitar Quartet, Horszowski Trio, Flux Quartet, New Esterházy Quartet, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, U.C. Berkeley Chamber Chorus (on tour), Monadnock Music Festival, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, St. Bartholomew’s Summer Festival of Sacred Music, The Young People’s Chorus of NYC, and the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas (NYC’s Town Hall). soundcloud.com/paul–brantley-music/sets
Soprano Allison Charney’s operatic career includes singing major roles including Mimi, Butterfly, Traviata, Pamina, and tour-de-force portrayals of all three heroines in Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffman among many others in opera companies throughout the country including New York City Opera, Atlanta Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Utah Opera, and Nashville Opera.randsman.com/allison-charney
Sylvia Danburg Volpe [violin] is Associate Principal Second Violin of the Metropolitan Opera orchestra. She plays with the MET Chamber Ensemble concert series at Carnegie Hall, and has performed a wide variety of classical and cross-over music both here and abroad.metorchestramusicians.org/sylvia-volpe
April Johnson [violin] has performed throughout the US with the Oracle Trio and the New York Chamber Soloists. She is a member of the Hoff-Barthelson Music School who also teaches Suzuki Violin, she earned a BM from Oberlin College and Advanced Studies at Brooklyn College Conservatory. hbms.org/faculty_bio/april-johnson
Sarah Adams [viola] performs widely in the New York area with ensembles including the New York Chamber Ensemble, American Ballet Theatre, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the American Symphony Orchestra, the New York City Opera Orchestra, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. She is principal violist of the Brooklyn Philharmonic and the Riverside Symphony and the violist of the Roerich Quartet. Ms. Adams has been teaching viola and chamber music at Columbia University since 1993.
Peter Seidenberg [cello and Artistic Director] has played in major halls throughout the US, Europe and Asia, and served as principal cellist with the Century Orchestra of Osaka. He was a founding member of the critically acclaimed Elements Quartet which created groundbreaking commissioning projects of 30 composers. He is the cellist for the Oracle Trio, the Queen’s Chamber Band, and the New York Chamber Soloists. peterseidenberg.com
Joseph Bongiorno [double bass] served as principal bass for the Brooklyn Philharmonic, American Composers Orchestra, Westchester Philharmonic, American Ballet Theater and was a member of the New York City Opera Orchestra and Mostly Mozart Festival. He recorded West Side Story under the baton of Leonard Bernstein and served as “house” bassist for Phillip Glass’ studio. A graduate of the Juilliard School, Mr. Bongiorno joined the faculty of NYU in 2006 where he was Director of Orchestras for 10 years.
Pascal Archer [clarinet]: Hailed by the New York Times as an “outstanding clarinetist”, Pascal Archer is the founder and Artistic Director of the Exponential Ensemble and a member of the American Modern Ensemble, Principal Clarinet of the Glimmerglass Festival Orchestra and the NEPA Philharmonic. A former member of the New World Symphony, he was Acting Principal Clarinet for the New Jersey Symphony from 2019 to 2021. Past chamber music collaborations include concerts with the JACK and St. Laurence string quartets, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Camerata Pacifica and tours with Musicians from Marlboro. He has performed at renowned summer festivals such as Marlboro, Mostly Mozart and Verbier. www.pascalarcher.com
Craig Ketter [piano] has performed nationally and internationally as a soloist as well as with international singers and chamber ensembles. Venues include NPR’s Performance Today series, CBS Sunday Morning, Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall and Tanglewood Music Festival. He has collaborated with many esteemed musicians including violinists Kelly Hall-Tomkins and Paul Huang and singers Renee Fleming, Debra Voigt and Samuel Ramey. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from the Eastman School of Music.
Edoardo Ballerini is a two-time winner of the Audio Publishers Association’s Best Male Narrator Audie Award. He is the co-creator, of the Audible Original The Angel of Rome. On screen, he is best known for this work in The Sopranos, and the film Dinner Rush. edoardoballerini.com
All attendees will be required to show proof of vaccination at the door. Until further notice, attendees will be required to wear masks at all indoor RiverArts events.
FOR MORE INFORMATION EMAIL: info@riverarts.org
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