Silenced Voices: Andover, MA SOUTH CHURCH

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SILENCED VOICES
LOVE & REMEMBRANCE

Valentine Concert

Sat, Feb. 11, 4 pm
Andover: SOUTH CHURCH, 41 Central Street

If Music be the food of love, play on!

I have never been able to resist programming a Valentine concert inspired by the myriad facets of love. Some may believe that poetry is  love’s greatest vehicle for this high holy day in our calendars, but I would argue that music, which transcends language, is love’s medium par excellence. 

Yes, Shakespeare, playing on: making music resiliently, indelibly, eternally, even as an act of resistance to death, is what today’s program affirms. We celebrate the enduring voices of composers who faced horrendous challenges during a dark period in time, but who continued to write beautiful music. Several of today’s composers were forced to flee their homelands and leave their legacies behind. Shostakovich struggled to reconcile his artistic integrity with the demands of the Soviet regime. Mendelssohn’s music was belittled by the anti-Semites of his day and was eventually banned by the Nazis.

For all these composers and the music they wrote, the phrase “undying love”comes to mind. Kindness and humanity are eternal; they are conserved; they do not die or succumb to the reigns of tyrants. 

On this concert we present a pastiche of beautiful works by composers whose voices were silenced at the hands of totalitarianism. Many composers were forced to flee their homelands and leave their legacies behind in order to escape prosecution and discrimination under the Nazi regime. Others were stripped of their art when their music was banned and removed from the repertoire of German orchestras by the Third Reich and Nazi-occupied Europe.

This special concert, for strings, piano, voice, and flute, celebrates those many voices, with pieces informing each other and resonating artistically. There is no need to put this music in a memorializing context in order to appreciate it, but the works may engender deep thought in sound, aesthetics, and history. With the beautiful mezzo-soprano Kara Dugan, who sang Mahler’s Ruckert Lieder for you two years ago.

FRANZ SCHREKER  Violin Sonata in F major: Allegretto Moderato 
FELIX MENDELSSOHN Songs for Mezzo soprano & piano 
     Neue Liebe from 6 songs Op. 19a no. 4
     Andres Mainlied from 12 songs Op. 8 no. 8 
DIMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH  “Jewish Folk Poetry” Op. 79; Lullaby for Mezzo
ALEXANDER ZEMLINSKY  String Quartet No.1, Op.4  (with flute):  Allegro con fuoco     
KURT WEILL Songs for mezzo soprano & piano 
     Foolish Heart
     One Life to Live
DIMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Piano Trio No. 2:  IV Allegretto
ERICH WOLFGANG KORNGOLD  (Marietta’s Lied from Die Tote Stadt), for piano, string quartet, & mezzo soprano

 


Our Online Ordering System

Mistral uses a secure online ticketing system provided by Arts People. You can purchase individual tickets using a credit card. You will be able to print your e-ticket at home and bring it with you to the concert, or we will print the ticket ourselves hold it at the door under your name. (It is always preferable to print your own or have them sent to you to avoid a crush at the WILL CALL desk. As a special promotion to encourage music lovers back into our halls, we’re offering general admission for individual concerts at our subscription rate: $35. Due to limited seating, there is no senior or student rate. Any concert can be exchanged for any other – even at the door. Just send us an email to make sure we’re not sold out. We are committed to making our concerts accessible to all, and so if you are interested in discounted or group tickets, please contact us at sales@mistralmusic.org.

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