Transforming experiences in chamber music.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
contact: Gabriel Langfur, Managing Director
phone: 617-427-8200
email: info@chameleonarts.org
website: www.chameleonarts.org
September 11, 2015
Chameleon Arts Ensemble opens 2015-2016 Season with “echoes of celestial song”
September 11, 2015 – Boston, MA – The Chameleon Arts Ensemble opens its 18th season of
chamber music with echoes of celestial song on Saturday, October 10, 2015, 8 PM and Sunday,
October 11, 2015, 4 PM, both at First Church in Boston, 66 Marlborough Street. The program
examines various ways in which composers have utilized Baroque styles and forms, including
Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet in g minor, Op. 57; Camille Saint-Saëns’ Sonata in D Major
for oboe and piano, Op. 166; Igor Stravinsky’s Duo Concertant for violin and piano; Elliott
Carter’s Sonata for flute, oboe, cello and harpsichord; and Per Nørgård’s The Well-Tempered
Percussionist.
Photos available at http://www.chameleonarts.org/press/photos.html
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Chameleon’s goal has always been to transform the listening experience by celebrating both the
rich tradition and the continual evolution of the art form. This philosophy is at the core of our
offerings in the fall, with three very special programs exploring the influence of J. S. Bach and
Baroque music on subsequent generations of composers.
echoes of celestial song begins the project with works by five composers who look to Baroque
music generally as a source of inspiration. Shostakovich composed his Piano Quintet, Op. 57 in
1940 at the behest of members of the Moscow-based Beethoven String Quartet. It was an
immediate success and earned him the first Stalin Prize with a cash award of 100,000 rubles in
1941. Cast in five movements, the work is structured like a giant Baroque suite, including a
massive Prelude and Fugue in the finest Bach-ian sense. A Soviet critic of the time wrote: “The
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Quintet is one of those few works of modern art that combine depth of content with exquisiteness
of form and intricacy of conception.”
Stravinsky too borrows from the past with his Duo Concertant for violin and piano. For years he
had resisted the violin/piano combination, taking “no pleasure in the blend of strings struck in the
piano with strings set in vibration with the bow.” Stravinsky’s only original work for violin and
piano, Duo Concertant was composed to fill out a program with the violinist Samuel Dushkin; the
two toured as recitalists in 1932-34. The work’s five movements were inspired by traditional
musical forms and idioms, as well as a biography of the Italian Renaissance poet Petrarch that
Stravinsky had been reading.
For Saint-Saëns, music of the Baroque and Classical periods was a touchstone throughout his
career. He studied the French Baroque, prepared editions of works by Rameau and Lully, and had
a lifelong love of the music of Bach. The Oboe Sonata, Op. 166, was the first of three wind
sonatas written in 1921, the last year of Saint-Saëns’ life. Even through his Romantic prism, we
hear a clarity and adherence to traditional forms and structures.
Elliott Carter’s Sonata for flute, oboe, cello and harpsichord is a seminal work in which he
manipulates our idea of time and creates a 20th century voice for a Baroque instrument. It was
written in a burst of creativity following the realization of his mature musical language, as revealed
in the Cello Sonata of 1948 and First String Quartet of 1951. He writes: “My idea was to stress as
much as possible the vast and wonderful array of tone-colors available on the modern harpsichord,
expressing characters unfamiliar to its extensive Baroque repertory.”
Though rarely heard in the US, Per Nørgård is perhaps the most prominent Danish composer
since Carl Nielsen. His music encompasses a wide range of styles and influences, from the high
modernist to the Baroque. Three preludes from J. S. Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier Book I
serve as the source material for his The Well-Tempered Percussionist, a playful fantasy scored for
vibraphone, marimba, and chimes.
ABOUT CHAMELEON ARTS ENSEMBLE OF BOSTON
Founded in 1998, Chameleon Arts Ensemble has distinguished itself as one of Boston’s finest,
most versatile chamber ensembles. Chameleon and Artistic Director Deborah Boldin have earned
unqualified praise for integrating old and new repertoire into unexpected chamber music programs
that are themselves works of art. They were recognized nationally with 2009 and 2007 Awards for
Adventurous Programming from Chamber Music America and the American Society of
Composers, Authors and Publishers. The Boston Globe praised Ms. Boldin’s “discerning ears and
cosmopolitan tastes,” noted “planning a good chamber music program is an art unto itself, and few
in town have mastered it as persuasively,” and remarked, “During intermission, concertgoers could
be overheard marveling at the program's breadth and wondering why other groups aren't as
adventurous. Chameleon makes daring seem easy.”
The artists of the Ensemble are highly respected and sought-after performers, with growing
national and international reputations. Their superb artistry and finely honed collaborative skills
ensure luminous performances and dynamic musical dialogues. The Arts Fuse recently praised
them for “a spectacular, shattering rendition.” The Boston Musical Intelligencer hailed “Moreover,
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for sheer musical beauty, this elegant and expressive performance would be hard to surpass,
maintaining limpid tone and clear textures even in the most florid passages as well as immaculate
ensemble and balances.”
PERFORMERS
Deborah Boldin, flute
Vivian Choi, piano
Nancy Dimock, oboe
Balint Karosi, harpsichord
Eunae Koh, violin
William Manley, percussion
Ayano Ninomiya, violin
Rafael Popper-Keizer, cello
Aaron Trant, percussion
Scott Woolweaver, viola
CALENDAR LISTING
Chameleon Arts Ensemble 2015-2016 Chamber Music Season
Concert 1:
echoes of celestial song
Program:
Camille Saint-Saens, Sonata in D Major for oboe & piano, Op. 166
Igor Stravinsky, Duo Concertant for violin & piano
Elliott Carter, Sonata for flute, oboe, cello & harpsichord (1952)
Per Norgard, The Well-Tempered Percussionist
Dmitri Shostakovich, Piano Quintet in g minor, Op. 57
Date/Time &
Location:
Saturday, October 10, 2015, 8 PM
Sunday, October 11, 2015, 4 PM
First Church, 66 Marlborough Street, Boston
The closest subway stops are Arlington Street on the Green Line and Back Bay Station on the Orange
Line. First Church in Boston is wheelchair accessible.
TICKETS
Individual tickets are $47, $36, and $25, with $5 discounts for students and seniors.
Telephone:
WWW:
E-mail:
617-427-8200
www.chameleonarts.org
info@chameleonarts.org
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