AUGUST 2, 2016 @ 7:30 PM

ECCO

Joaquín Turina, (1882-1949), La Oración del Torero, “The Bullfighter’s Prayer” (1925)

Claudio Monteverdi, (1567-1643), Selection of Madrigals

Pierre Jalbert, (1967-), String Theory, (written for ECCO)

I. Partials
II. Timeless
III. Rhythmus

INTERMISSION

Witold Lutoslawski, (1913-94), Five Folk Melodies (1952)

Antonín Dvořák, (1841-1904), Serenade for Strings in E major, Op. 22 (1875)

I. Moderato
II. Menuetto): Allegro con moto
III. Scherzo: Vivace
IV. Larghetto
V. Finále: Allegro vivace

WQXR HOST: Terrance McKnight

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

ECCO  – East Coast Chamber Orchestra

Some of the most enjoyable and revelatory musical experiences happen when musicians get together for fun rather than work. That’s exactly what you can expect at every ECCO concert—music played with total involvement and passion from musicians who thrive on the pure joy and camaraderie of classical music making. The members of this democratically‐run, self-conducted chamber orchestra are colleagues and friends from leading conservatories and music festivals across the country. They are soloists, chamber musicians, principals of major American orchestras, and GRAMMY award winners who play with the symphony orchestras of Philadelphia, Minnesota, San Francisco, Chicago, St. Louis, Seattle and Boston among others. Members also play with the Enso, Jasper, Jupiter, and Parker Quartets, as well as the Horszowski Trio, Trio Cavatina, Sejong Soloists, Time for Three, and Chamber Music Society II.

This dynamic collective of some of today’s most vibrant and gifted young string players combines the strength and power of a great orchestral ensemble with the personal involvement and sensitivity of superb chamber music. For a few concentrated periods of time each year, the members of ECCO meet for rehearsal and musical exploration. Cooking, eating, enjoying close friendships and now sharing tips for raising the next generation of ECCO are important aspects of the ensemble’s gatherings. Along with musical exploration, there is always an intense discussion to be had about the joys and challenges of maintaining a truly communal creative organization.

They only schedule a handful of their unique concerts annually, which makes them rare and joyous events.

See: eccorchestra.org

String Theory was written for the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO) and commissioned by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society in celebration of its 30th anniversary season, through support from the William Penn Foundation. The work is in three movements and was inspired by the idea of dynamic vibrating strings, referring to both the musical instruments and the theory of quantum gravity. In terms of the string instruments, the idea of dividing a string in various ways to produce harmonics (Partials), sustaining long held tones (Timeless), and rapidly moving the bow back and forth along the string (Rhythmus) all played a part in the work, as did the idea of vibrating strings propagating through space-time and interacting with each other in various ways.

The first movement, Partials, contains pulsating music and exploits both natural and artificial harmonics on each of the instruments. The second movement, Timeless, is a more lyrical, floating movement marked “with a sense of cosmic time.” The third movement, Rhythmus, is fast-paced and syncopated. It contains virtuosic rhythmic figures for the entire ensemble, but also features solo first and second violin parts, echoing and dueling with each other, leading to the entire ensemble merging for the final push to the end.