Welcome to our October 2021 Newsletter!
Femmes et orangers fond blanc (Women and orange trees on a white background; Baya,1947). Self-taught Algerian artist Baya Mahieddine influenced and inspired the likes of Matisse and Picasso.
Getting ready for November’s Kaleidoscope
Sarasa is gearing up for our next concert-set, Kaleidoscope, celebrating some youthful composers and vivid string writing next month!
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s String Sextet in A major will get a rare outing by Sarasa this November. Principally known for his colorful mastery of orchestration, some of his most celebrated works include his Russian Easter Festival Overture and Scheherazade. Or perhaps his famous “Flight of the Bumblebee” from his opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan is most familiar.
Soon after becoming Professor of Practical Composition and Instrumentation at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, he entered a competition held by the Russian Musical Society in 1876. He surprised the panel with a string sextet that was only published posthumously in 1912. It was lost during the Russian Revolution, and finally was reprinted by several Soviet printing houses, who coveted compositions by “true" compatriots. Rimsky-Korsakov’s sextet is a truly youthful piece, filled with fairytale and folk-like musical imagery.
Allegro vivace from Rimsky-Korsakov’s String Sextet in A major - LISTEN HERE
Sarasa celebrates two young, up-and-coming composers:
Alongside this sextet, we are delighted to introduce two brand new works by Brandeis PhD composition candidates, Mariel Mayz and Li Qi. Co-commissioned by Sarasa and David Stern (a local Sarasa supporter and composer), each has written a 5-minute work for string quartet based on a theme by Stern. It will be fascinating to hear their very different approaches to the same theme. Our November newsletter will include interviews by these two aspiring composers. Other works for the November set include a short CPE Bach Sinfonia for strings and Purcell’s moving In Nomine in six parts.
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Kaleidoscope
Colourful, ever changing shapes in music with youthful Rimsky-Korsakov, timeless Purcell, and the genius of CPE Bach. New works by Li Qi and Mariel Mayz.
Zenas Hsu, Katherine Winterstein, violins; Marka Gustavsson, Jason Fisher, violas; Timothy Merton, Jennifer Morsches, cellos
Friday*, November 19, 2021 Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church, Cambridge at 7.30pm
Saturday* November 20, 2021 Brattleboro Music Center, VT at 7.30pm [tickets: bmcvt.org]
Sunday, November 21, 2021 Follen Community Church, Lexington at 3.30pm
*PLEASE NOTE our Cambridge concert takes place on a Friday evening, not our usual Saturday evening. Remaining 2021-22 concerts in Cambridge will return to Saturday evenings following this concert.
**Masks required at all venues
Fall Mushroom Madness!
2021 has been a bonanza year for mushroom foraging in New England due to an extremely wet summer. Please share your favorite photos or recipes with us!
Keep your ears tuned to WHRB Harvard Radio next month for a Sarasa feature!
Co-Artistic Directors Timothy Merton and Jennifer Morsches sit down with WHRB’s Classical Music for a very special program exploring the music of Luigi Boccherini. Tune in to 95.3 FM or stream online at www.whrb.org on Monday, November 15th at 7:00pm to learn more about this great 18th-century cellist and composer, hear some Sarasa recordings of several Boccherini pieces, and learn how Sarasa persevered with its concerts throughout the pandemic.
Sarasa’s September Concert-Set Still Streaming!
And don’t forget! "Points of Transition" is still available to view on Sarasa’s website in the comfort of your own home for another few weeks. Works by Arvo Pärt, Luigi Boccherini, David Pohle, and Ludwig van Beethoven Watch here!
