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Contact: Gabriel Langfur
info@chameleonarts.org
617-427-8200
Chameleon Arts Ensemble presents "twin notes inseparably
paired "
January 4, 2008 - Boston, MA - The Chameleon Arts
Ensemble will present its first concert of 2008 on Saturday,
February 2, at the Goethe-Institut Boston, 170 Beacon Street
in the Back Bay. The program of duos - the most intimate,
most fundamental form of chamber music - is entitled twin
notes inseparably paired, and includes: Brahms' e minor Cello
Sonata, Virgil Thomson's Five Phrases from the Song of Solomon
(1924) for soprano and percussion, Lowell Liebermann's Sonata
for flute & harp, Op. 56, Prokofiev's f minor Violin Sonata,
and Tigran Mansurian's Duo for viola & percussion.
The third of five Boston Premieres on Chameleon's 10th anniversary
season, Tigran Mansurian's Duo for viola & percussion
was composed in 1998 for Kim Kashkashian and Robyn Schulkowsky.
Widely regarded as Armenia's leading living composer, Tigran
Mansurian was born in 1939 to Armenian parents in Beirut.
Like many others, they returned to their Armenia (Soviet Armenia)
in 1947 after the Second World War. Mansurian studied at the
Yerevan Music Academy and the Komitas State Conservatory,
where he eventually became director. He has won prizes in
Moscow and Armenia, but until recently has remained an elusive
figure here in the United States. Mansurian's work is a synthesis
of ancient Armenian musical traditions and contemporary European
composition methods. He writes "I have tried to find
myself in the old Armenian music" and "I have tried
to find myself in Boulez' serialism. When you go deep in these
traditions, you will find the things that are true to your
individual roots. Generally, I compose what's been developing
and growing inside me for a long time." The result is
utterly organic and natural-sounding and artfully expresses
the composer's deep spirituality.
Despite his relative youth (born in February 1961), Lowell
Liebermann is one of America's most often performed and commissioned
composers. His unique balances of tradition and innovation,
compositional craft, stylistic flexibility, and directness
of communication, as well as his prolific output, have earned
him the loyal support of many leading performers. The Sonata
for flute & harp, composed in 1996, stands out in the
repertoire for this ensemble for its darkly emotional gravity
and breadth of phrasing.
Virgil Thomson (1896-1989) was equally famous as a composer
of thoroughly American art music and as one of the leading
music critics of his day. He set the Biblical texts for his
Five Phrases from the Song of Solomon with a spare, minimal
percussion accompaniment that anticipated the Asian-inspired
works of his compatriots John Cage and Lou Harrison by nearly
two decades.
In a city immersed in music, the Chameleon Arts Ensemble
is distinguished by superb artistry, luminous performances,
and dynamic musical dialogues. This innovative ensemble draws
capacity audiences of those who love the adventure of music-classic
and contemporary. A Chameleon concert is a multifaceted experience
in an intimate environment joining audience and musicians
in an exuberant celebration of music. The musicians are award-winning
local artists with growing national and international reputations,
who have appeared with orchestras and in recitals around the
world. Since its founding in 1998, Chameleon and artistic
director Deborah Boldin have earned high praise for integrating
old and new repertoire into unexpected chamber music programs
that are themselves works of art, and were recognized nationally
with a 2007 ASCAP/CMA award for adventurous programming. In
a recent review, Jeremy Eichler of The Boston Globe praised
her "discerning ears and cosmopolitan tastes" and
remarked that "planning a good chamber music program
is an art unto itself, and few in town have mastered it as
persuasively as the Chameleon Arts Ensemble."
For tickets or more information, concertgoers can call 617-427-8200
or visit www.chameleonarts.org. Subscription prices range
from $49 to $152, and individual tickets are $38, $28 and
$18. $5 discounts for students and seniors are available for
individual tickets. The Goethe-Institut is a wheelchair accessible
venue.
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info@chameleonarts.org
