A Musical Offering
Evening Music | May 6, 2010
Frederick II of Prussia once gave Bach a theme, asking him to improvise a fugue upon it. The result? “A Musical Offering,” which we offer our listeners this evening.
Bach’s inscription to “A Musical Offering” reads “Regis Iussi et reliqua canonica arte resoluta.” The first letters of those words (oh, clever Bach!) spell ricercar (a fugal composition). Over the course of the evening, we bring you the work: first, just the ‘Fuga canonica in epidiapente’ played by the Ensemble Sonnerie; later, the entire thing, as played by a five-member period-instruments group from the Aston Magna festival; later still, the Ricercar for Six Voices, as orchestrated by Anton Webern and played by the Berlin Philharmonic under the helm of Pierre Boulez.
It is violinist and conductor Dmitry Sitkovetsky’s 50th birthday, so we thought we ought to hear from him. Our second hour features his own transcription for string orchestra of Ernst von Dohnanyi’s Serenade in C, the NES Chamber Orchestra flourishing under his leadership.
The second half of Evening Music brings the ever-popular “Nevertheless,” by the Latvian Georgs Pelecis, who dedicated the work to his friend Gidon Kremer, the featured violinist in what amounts to a violin concerto, played with the German Chamber Philharmonic. Rodolfo Halffter’s ballet suite, “Don Líndo de Almeria,” receives an idiomatic and robust interpretation from Antoni Ros Marbá and the Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla.
Bach’s inscription to “A Musical Offering” reads “Regis Iussi et reliqua canonica arte resoluta.” The first letters of those words (oh, clever Bach!) spell ricercar (a fugal composition). Over the course of the evening, we bring you the work: first, just the ‘Fuga canonica in epidiapente’ played by the Ensemble Sonnerie; later, the entire thing, as played by a five-member period-instruments group from the Aston Magna festival; later still, the Ricercar for Six Voices, as orchestrated by Anton Webern and played by the Berlin Philharmonic under the helm of Pierre Boulez.
It is violinist and conductor Dmitry Sitkovetsky’s 50th birthday, so we thought we ought to hear from him. Our second hour features his own transcription for string orchestra of Ernst von Dohnanyi’s Serenade in C, the NES Chamber Orchestra flourishing under his leadership.
The second half of Evening Music brings the ever-popular “Nevertheless,” by the Latvian Georgs Pelecis, who dedicated the work to his friend Gidon Kremer, the featured violinist in what amounts to a violin concerto, played with the German Chamber Philharmonic. Rodolfo Halffter’s ballet suite, “Don Líndo de Almeria,” receives an idiomatic and robust interpretation from Antoni Ros Marbá and the Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla.
