The Santa Barbara Music Club offers another of its splendid free concerts at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 7, in First United Methodist Church, 305 E. Anapamu St. Cherished club members Andrea and Neil DiMaggio will perform a number of diverse works for flute (Andrea) and piano (Neil), including:
The concert opens with two highly contrasting works by French composers: the elegant Françoise Devienne‘s “Sonata in e-minor, Opus 58, No. 5” (1798); Pierre Sancan‘s “Sonatine for Flute and Piano” (1946); Eric Ewazen‘s “Ballade, Pastorale and Dance” (2002), with French hornist John Mason; and the “Fugue” from Johannes Brahms‘ “Variations and Fugue in Bb-Major on a Theme of Handel, Opus 24” (1861). Admission, as noted above, is free.
The Sonata by Devienne (1759-1803) was one of the composer’s many compositions for flute that were revived by Jean-Pierre Rampal in the 1960s. It quickly entered the standard concert repertory of French flautists, and it has been working its way onto concert stages worldwide, ever since. From the first notes, the work’s origin in eighteenth century France is unmistakable.
Sancan (1916-2008) was a French composer, pianist, teacher and conductor. Wikipedia notes he “was a major figure among French musicians in the mid-twentieth-century transition between modern and contemporary eras; but outside France his name is almost unknown.”
The “Sonatine” was written for a conservatory competition in 1946 and has become Sancan’s most popular work. If you like the flute sonatas of Poulenc and Prokofiev, you’ll have no trouble with Sancan.
Ewazen (born 1954) is about as well known as a living composer gets to be in this fragmented media/culture of contemporary America. There are echoes of Copland in the “Ballade, Pastorale and Dance,” but the overall voice is very much Ewazen’s own. It’s a gorgeous work from start to finish.
Johannes Brahms (1833-97), of course, is Johannes Brahms, and, as such, is greater than anything I can say about him.
For information on this or other Santa Barbara Music Club programs and performing artists, or to donate, visit www.SBMusicClub.org.
Re: COVID-19, the club says: “In accordance with public health guidelines, all patrons, including children under the age of 12, must show proof of full vaccination (final COVID-19 vaccine dose administered at least 14 days prior to the concert date) or proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of arrival. Masks are required, and must cover both nose and mouth. Social distancing is required.”
— Gerald Carpenter covers the arts as a Noozhawk contributing writer. He can be reached at gerald.carpenter@gmail.com. The opinions expressed are his own.