The next concert in the Music Academy’s Festival Artists Series takes place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 9, in the Lobero Theater, and will feature musicians from the London Symphony Orchestra Musicians.
The program will consist of performances of Tōru Takemitsu‘s “Toward the Sea, for Alto Flute and Percussion” (1981, 1989), with Gareth Davies,* flute and Neil Percy,* percussion; Ernő Dohnányi‘s “Sextet in C-Major for Piano, Strings, and Winds, Opus 37” (1935), with Carmine Lauri,* violin, Karen Dreyfus, viola, Tim Hugh,* cello, Timothy Jones,* horn, Sara Han,+ clarinet, and Natasha Kislenko, piano; and Olivier Messiaen‘s “Quartet for the End of Time” (1941), with Jorja Fleezanis, violin, Alan Stepansky, cello, Richie Hawley, clarinet, and Conor Hanick, piano. [“*” = London Symphony Orchestra guest artist; “+” = Academy fellow]
Takemitsu is, by a considerable distance, the greatest composer on this program. “Toward the Sea” was commissioned by Greenpeace for the Save the Whales campaign. The titles of work’s three sections — “The Night,” “Moby-Dick, and “Cape Cod” — are references to Herman Melville‘s novel, and the motto for the piece could easily be derived, according to the composer, from the passage “meditation and water are wedded together.”
“Toward the Sea” was composed in 1981 for alto flute and guitar, and re-composed later that year for alto flute, harp and string orchestra. In 1989, Takemitsu had another go at it, this time for alto flute and harp, without the orchestra.
I am not sure which version was adapted for flute and percussion, but the arrangement is luminous, and weirdly soothing. (“Do I look old, Starbuck? I feel terribly humped and bowed, as if I were Adam, staggering under the piled up centuries since Paradise.”)
The Dohnányi rolls along, pleasantly and smoothly. There is a fair amount of drama and sorrow, but even in these passages it is as if the composer is reluctant to wake us.
Still, considering the dearth of compositions for this particular ensemble, it is surprising we should hear so excellent a work so seldom.
Most of us know the circumstances under which the Messiaen was composed: concentration camp, sub-zero weather, just four available instruments. No doubt each of us has committed at least one sin in our lives for which we still need to atone. Here is a great opportunity.
Tickets to this Faculty Artists Concert are $46 (Community Access $10, if available; 7-17s free), and they may be obtained by calling 805-969-8787, or by visiting www.musicacademy.org/whats-on/mafas-iii/book/25009/.
— 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.