Concert Program IV
The Rise of Modernism
The dawn of the twentieth century saw an explosion of bold stylistic directions in Western music. The era’s great innovators—composers like Debussy, Stravinsky, and Ives—charted new frontiers of musical possibility. Composers in search of fresh and genuine modes of expression absorbed a myriad of influences from all corners of an ever-shrinking world and discarded whatever rules had previously governed their craft. This season, Music@Menlo offers a multifarious sampling of early Modernism’s maverick composers, beginning with Debussy’s ravishing Violin Sonata and Stravinsky’s devilish Three Pieces for String Quartet. The program also includes Benjamin Britten’s chimerical Phantasy for oboe and strings, Prokofiev’s evocative Overture on Hebrew Themes, and the jazz-inflected Diversions of American composer Louis Gruenberg. The intensity of Shostakovich’s arresting String Octet closes the program with a bang.
Concert Program IV: The Rise of Modernism
Claude Debussy: Violin Sonata (1916–17)
Igor Stravinsky: Three Pieces for String Quartet (1914)
Louis Gruenberg: Four Diversions for String Quartet, op. 32 (1930)
Charles Ives: Selected songs
Benjamin Britten: Phantasy, op. 2 (1932)
Sergey Prokofiev: Overture on Hebrew Themes, op. 34 (1919)
Dmitry Shostakovich: Two Pieces for String Octet, op. 11 (1924–25)
Performers
Anthony McGill clarinet
William Bennett oboe
Escher String Quartet
Adam Barnett-Hart violin
Wu Jie violin
Pierre Lapointe viola
Andrew Janss cello
Jorja Fleezanis violin
Ian Swensen violin
Paul Neubauer viola
Andrés Díaz cello
David Finckel cello
Anna Polonsky piano
Robert Gardner baritone
Friday, August 1
Koret Young Performers Concert*
5:30 p.m., Stent Family Hall, Menlo School
Free admission
Encounter III: Delicious Dissonance: Melodic, Harmonic, and Rhythmic Dissonance in the Twentieth Century, led by Bruce Adolphe
7:30 p.m., Martin Family Hall, Menlo School
Tickets: $35 adult; $15 student
Saturday, August 2
Koret Young Performers Concert*
6:00 p.m., St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
Free admission
Concert Program IV: The Rise of Modernism
8:00 p.m., St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
Tickets: $50/$32 adult; $25/$10 student
Sunday, August 3
Prelude Performance*
4:00 p.m., Martin Family Hall, Menlo School
Free admission
Repeat of Concert Program IV
6:00 p.m., Stent Family Hall, Menlo School
Tickets: $70 adult; $35 student
Monday, August 4
Prelude Performance*
6:00 p.m., Martin Family Hall, Menlo School
Free admission
Repeat of Concert Program IV
8:00 p.m., Stent Family Hall, Menlo School
Tickets: $70 adult; $35 student
*Learn more about Prelude Performances and Koret Young Performers Concerts.
More Concert Programs:
Concert Program I »
Concert Program II »
Concert Program III »
Concert Program V »