Often paired together, Charles Ives’s The Unanswered Question for solo trumpet, winds and strings, and Central Park in the Dark for orchestra explore the notion of the individual contemplating the world—our existence and place within it in the first work, and, in the second, the sounds of the world before industrialisation, “before the combustion engine and radio monopolized the earth and air,” as Ives noted.
Originally written for the Sydney Symphony brass section, the ANAM Brass musicians unite for a performance of Alex Turley’s Mirage. This brand-new work explores the more subtle and mysterious textures of the loudest of orchestral instruments. Sounds bend and refract around the ensemble, which is spread throughout the performance space in an ever-shifting harmonic language designed to lose yourself in.
Equally labyrinthine in its harmonic twists and turns is Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night) by Arnold Schoenberg. Pre-dating his revolutionary upheaval of classical music, this early work for strings showcases ingenious motivic development and a sumptuous romantic language, telling the story of two lovers and the transfiguration of their love for each other.
PROGRAM
Alex TURLEY Mirage
Charles IVES The Unanswered Question
IVES Central Park in the Dark
Ruth CRAWFORD SEEGER Music for Small Orchestra
Arnold SCHOENBERG Verklärte Nacht, op. 4
ARTISTS
Richard Tognetti director / violin
ANAM Orchestra
Duration: approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes (no interval)
Special Offer! A 5% discount applies when purchasing tickets to 2 ANAM Orchestra concerts at St Kilda Town Hall, and a 10% discount applies when purchasing tickets to all 3 St Kilda Town Hall concerts.
