2001 - 2002 Season

Paderewski in Paris: A Fin-de-Siècle Sensation
Focusing on the years that Paderewski spent in Paris in the late 1880's and early 1890's, this concert will highlight his connections with French musicians and artists and the important role of the Parisian salons in launching Paderewski’s international career. Among the works in the program are Paderewski’s Violin Sonata and Saint-Saëns’s Polonaise for two pianos, a work that he dedicated to Paderewski and with whom he gave the premiere.

The Symbol in Word, Image and Sound
The development of the Symbolist movement in France at the end of the 19th century, which soon spread throughout Europe, represented a turning point in the conception of art, poetry and music. Music was a central feature of the Symbolist aesthetics. This concert will focus on musical works directly linked to this movement and will feature the poetry of Baudelaire, Verlaine, Rimbaud and Mallarmé. Among the works included are songs by Debussy, Fauré, Ravel and Duparc highlighting different settings of select Symbolist poems; the original version of Debussy’s Syrinx for flute and declamation; and instrumental works including Debussy’s Piano Trio.

Robert and Clara Schumann: A Love Story in Music
The love between Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck is one of the most endearing and inspiring stories in the history of Western music. Their courtship and marriage will be chronicled in a program featuring songs by Robert and Clara, Clara’s magnificent Piano Trio and the slow movement of her Piano Concerto; and Robert’s Frauenliebe und Leben, among other works.

Secret Messages and Dedications
Featuring music written within the circle of Robert and Clara Schumann, Brahms, Joachim and Dietrich, this concert will highlight the coded messages that the composers incorporated into their music in order to communicate to one another their deepest feelings. Among the works featured are the F.A.E. Sonata (a joint project of Brahms, Schumann and Dietrich), early lieder by Brahms and works by Josef Joachim and Clara Schumann.

The Other Chopin: The Chamber Music
Chopin has such a strong grip on our imagination as the quintessential composer for the piano that we tend to forget the other aspects of his creative genius. This concert will explore his chamber works, which include the magnificent Sonata for Cello and Piano, op. 65, as well as lesser known pieces such as the Rondo for two pianos, the Piano Trio op. 8, and the Variations for Flute and Piano on a theme from Rossini’s La Cenerentola.

2002 - 2003 Season

Sublime Sorcery: Music and the Supernatural
The supernatural was one of the most important aspects of the Romantic movement in music. The suggestive power of music, its capacity to stimulate the imagination, and its grip on the subconscious made it an ideal medium for expressing the mysterious turns of the human psyche. In celebration of Halloween, this concert will feature haunting instrumental and vocal works by Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Liszt and Saint-Saëns, among others, having as their subject supernatural phenomena and the human perception of the otherworld. Narration from the writings of E.T.A. Hoffmann.

A Singing Flame: The Soul of Spanish Music
In the Romantic imagination, Spain was a land of passion, desire, and sensuality. Towards the end of the 19th century, Spanish culture infused new blood in the development of nationalism in Europe and captivated the imagination of many foreign composers. The sensual melodic lines and vibrant rhythm of Spanish music will be showcased in a concert featuring works by Manuel de Falla, Granados, Albéniz, and Turina, in addition to works by foreign composers inspired by the fire and passion of Spain. Narration from 19th-century letters, diaries, and other writings about Spain and its culture.

The Young Arthur Rubinstein
The pianist Arthur Rubinstein was one of the most magnetic musical personalities of the 20th century. In the course of his long career, he met all the major composers of the century, befriended the greatest performers, and left an indelible mark as one of the most sensitive interpreters of the Romantic repertory. During his formative years, he traveled extensively and established enduring friendships with composers whose music he continued to champion throughout his life. This concert will feature works by composers whom Rubinstein knew personally in his early years.

The World of Yesterday: The Life and Loves of Alma Mahler
In his memoir Die Welt von Gestern (The World of Yesterday) the Austrian writer Stefan Zweig looked with great nostalgia to the period in Viennese history immediately before the collapse of the Austrian-Hungarian empire. The last decades of the 19th century, the Viennese golden autumn, also marked the twilight of Romanticism. The lush sonorities and profound emotionality of the music of this period will be showcased through vocal and instrumental works by Brahms, Hugo Wolf, Gustav Mahler, Alma Mahler, Zemlinsky, and Kreisler. Narration from composers’ letters and Stefan Zweig’s memoir.

2003 - 2004 Season

The Sorrows of Young Werther: A Romantic Liederabend
Goethe’s masterpiece The Sorrows of Young Werther left an indelible imprint on the Romantic imagination. Goethe traces the inner life of Werther, a quintessential romantic hero who goes mad and commits suicide because of unrequited love. This dramatic love story will be presented in the context of a Liederabend, or evening song recital. Our Liederabend will feature Schumann’s magnificent song cycle Dichterliebe, interspersed with songs by Schubert, Liszt, Brahms, Hugo Wolf, Mahler, and Pfitzner.

The Vibrant Palette: Van Gogh and Music
In Van Gogh's letters he revealed a strong sensitivity to sound and to the inspirational power of music, an art whose expressive qualities he tried to emulate in his paintings. The sensorial qualities of Van Gogh’s rich and vibrant palette found many parallels in French music of his time, an association that will be highlighted in this concert through readings of his letters to his brother Theo, as a counterpoint to chamber and vocal works by Franck, Fauré, Chausson, and Debussy, among others.

Schubert’s Dream
Schubert’s short story My Dream, a tale of exile and homecoming, opens new insights into many facets of Schubert’s life and personality. Having performed and composed exclusively among a private circle of friends, Schubert was one of the most elusive of Romantic composers. This concert will highlight Schubert’s only known literary work amid performances of some of his most magnificent chamber music and songs.

None but the Lonely Heart: The Life of Tchaikovsky
Plagued with doubts about the greatness of his music, tormented by the fear of discovery of his homosexuality, and trapped in a marriage to a woman who was eventually committed to an insane asylum, Tchaikovsky nevertheless created some of the most beloved and inspired music of the 19th century. This concert will feature Tchaikovsky’s chamber music and songs.

2004 - 2005 Season

Emily Dickinson: Herself to Her a Music
Emily Dickinson was one of the most elusive artistic personalities of the 19th century. A recluse for most of her adult life, in her self-imposed solitude she produced a body of poetry that remains haunting and mysterious. Music figured prominently in Dickinson’s imagination, and this concert will offer a journey through her soul from the perspective of music. A dramatic monologue based on her letters and poems will form the textual backdrop for the music of Amy Beach.

Dora: A Case of Hysteria
In 1900, for a period of three months, Freud undertook the psychoanalysis of a seventeen year old named Dora. Caught in a web of intrigue and sexual abuse, Dora developed a number of hysteric symptoms and was brought for treatment. At the time, Freud himself was going through a period of self-doubt and disillusionment. Dora’s case reveals the repressive social milieu which permeated all aspects of fin-de-siècle Vienna. The program includes chamber and vocal works of Alma and Gustav Mahler, Erich Korngold, and Richard Strauss. Narration will be based on Freud’s case history and correspondence.

Fanny Mendelssohn: Out of Her Brother’s Shadow
The career of Fanny Mendelssohn was a textbook example of the cultural and social constraints that curtailed the artistic development of women during the 19th century. A composer and performer of exceptional talent, Fanny lived most of her life in the shadow of her brother Felix, whose success as a composer severely handicapped Fanny’s own development. The correspondence between the siblings provide a striking testimony of their conflicts, aspirations, and mutual influence. The program will highlight Felix’s and Fanny’s remarkable compositional legacy and Fanny’s role as one of the most important salonnières of the Romantic period.

George Sand: Letters from Majorca
The relationship between Chopin and the French writer Aurore Dudevant (George Sand) galvanized the Romantic century. George Sand was Chopin’s lover, mentor, and mother figure. She had a crucial role in the compositional history of several masterpieces of Chopin’s maturity, foremost among them the 24 Preludes, op. 28. This collection of musical jewels was completed over the course of some years during which Chopin was recovering from tuberculosis, mostly at the Valdemosa monastery in Majorca. Letters by George Sand and Chopin to their friends will illustrate the performance of the complete cycle of Preludes, including two lesser known works not included in the set.

2005 - 2006 Season

Tolstoy’s Last Days
Relive the dramatic final days of Tolstoy’s life when at the age of 83 he fled his wife and estates only to die tragically eleven days later at the stationmaster’s house in the Astapovo train station. A narrative based on diaries and letters of Tolstoy and his wife, combined with excerpts from his short story, The Death of Ivan Ilych, recounts his final predicament. The text, intertwined with Rachmaninoff’s intensely expressive music for violin, cello, and piano, including the Trio Elégiaque and the haunting Vocalise, create a theatrical concert that epitomizes Russian tragedy and soulfulness.

My Heart, My Serpent: Thus Spoke Zarathustra
The psychological and spiritual journeys of Nietzsche and his alter-ego Zarathustra are portrayed in this dramatic Liederabend. The compelling language of Nietzsche’s masterpiece, along with excerpts from his letters and philosophical writings, will portray a man in search of his true self as he struggles to free himself from the grip of madness and painful memories. Works by some of the greatest Romantic composers, the enchanting sounds of a children’s chorus and baritone, and instrumental interludes will create an unforgettable musical tapestry that includes Brahms’s Four Serious Songs, Wolf’s Prometheus, and Liszt’s dramatic recitation The Sad Monk.

L’Innocente
Life imitates art in this theatrical concert based on D’Annunzio’s disturbing novel L’Innocente. A story of love, betrayal, and infanticide, the performance offers a mirror reflecting the passionate and destructive love affair between the Italian poet and novelist Gabriele D’Annunzio and Elonora Duse, one of the greatest actresses of her day, his perfect muse. An artist who immersed himself in the extremes of sensuality and luxury, D’Annunzio found in Duse his perfect muse and the embodiment of his most memorable heroines. Excerpts from L’Innocente, the letters of D’Annunzio and Duse, and the music of Puccini, Respighi, Busoni, and Verdi tell a story that reveals the tempestuous intensity of the Italian soul. [photos]

Van Gogh’s Ear
Hear the tormented voice of Van Gogh in letters that reveal his inner struggles and his strong sensitivity to sound. Van Gogh often found solace in the inspirational power of music, an art whose expressive qualities he tried to emulate in his paintings and whose sensorial qualities permeated his vibrant palette. Readings of his letters to his brother Theo will create a counterpoint to chamber and vocal works by Franck, Fauré, Chausson, and Debussy, including Chausson’s shimmering Chanson perpétuelle for mezzo-soprano and piano quintet. [photos]

2006 - 2007 Season

The Dreyfus Affair
When the Jewish captain Alfred Dreyfus was accused of treason in 1894 by a French military tribunal and imprisoned, French society erupted into a fireball of anti-Semitism and political partisanship that called into question the very nature of French identity. This tragic private drama played out in a very public arena; not only the press but also artists, writers, and musicians became entangled in a controversy which lasted almost two decades and continues to resonate to this day. A poignant script based on Dreyfus’s letters and diaries and other contemporary sources — such as Zola’s article J’Accuse — is interwoven with music of transcendent pathos, including Franck’s Piano Quintet, Ravel’s Deux mélodies hébraïques, and arias from Halévy’s La Juive, capturing the human and social drama of this turbulent period.

The Young Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein was one of the most magnetic musical personalities of the 20th century. He had a special relationship with Paris, a city he loved so much that he vowed “never to live anywhere else in the world but in this divine city !” Turn-of-the-century Paris was the most cosmopolitan center in Europe; there Rubinstein befriended some of the greatest composers of the time, whose music he championed throughout his life. A script based on Rubinstein’s memoirs captures his struggles and triumphs amidst the glittering musical life of Paris, featuring music by composers whom Rubinstein knew personally, including Saint-Saëns, Ravel, Falla, Szymanowski, Stravinsky, and Skriabin.

Satie, Bohemian from Montmartre: A Cabaret
In the late 1800’s, the Parisian cabaret was a stage for artists, poets, and musicians whose credo was wit, inventiveness, and irreverence. Erik Satie, a paradigm of eccentricity, electrified the cabarets with his flamboyant personality, biting humor, and outrageous pronouncements. This concert recaptures the kaleidoscopic life of a Montmartre cabaret through humorous and satirical writings by Satie and his collaborator, the poet Alphonse Allais. A dramatic story from Satie’s past will unfold underneath the glittering surface of anecdotes and social satire, fueled by the music of Satie, Debussy, and contemporaneous cabaret songs and instrumental works. The Parisian cabaret chanteuse Denise Bahous, who revived the repertoire of the famous Yvette Guilbert from Le Chat Noir, will join ERC musicians.

Peggy Guggenheim stripped bare by her bachelors
The sensational life of the American patroness Peggy Guggenheim is the focus of a musical and cultural journey through the 20th century. Tragedy and comedy intermingle as Peggy’s very sense of self is dramatized through her forays into the artistic world, her relationships with protégés, and her traumatic love affairs. The effervescent creativity of the 20th century emerges in a musical program that covers a dizzying variety of genres and styles, with works by Poulenc, Milhaud, Stravinsky, Gershwin, Cole Porter, Nino Rota, Barber, Berio, Ned Rorem and others. This variegated musical canvas for mixed ensemble, actors, tenor and soprano is woven into a script based on Peggy’s autobiography, a tragicomic tale infused with the drama of a fractured identity.

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