Janacek; Beethoven; Prokofiev; Finney, with Miranda Cuckson (violin) and Blair McMillen (piano)

  • October 27, 2023 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

  • PS21 Black Box Theater

    2980 New York 66
    Chatham, New York 12037
Ticket Price $10.00-$40.00 This event is now over
Description

Miranda Cuckson and Blair McMillen, two internationally celebrated artists noted for their innate expressivity, musical dexterity, and boundlessly evident love for music and live performance, return to PS21.

 

“Her command of line and naturalness of expression leave little doubt that Miranda Cuckson is an artist to be reckoned with” – Gramophone  

 

“When played by the formidable Mr. McMillen, any piece sounds terrific” – The New York Times

 

PROGRAM

 

Leoš Janáček: Violin Sonata

Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 8 in G major, op. 30 no. 3

Sergei Prokofiev: Violin Sonata No. 1 in F minor, op. 80

Ross Lee Finney: Fiddle-doodle-ad: Eight American Folk-Tunes

 

Each of the four pieces on the program come from a very distinct personality and time and place, but they have one important thing in common – they reflect on a similar experience. Whether overt or indirect, each work can be heard as its composer's response to war and wartime. 

 

Audiences will hear two very different and personal reactions in the aftermath of World War II. Sergei Prokofiev's haunting, visceral Violin Sonata No. 1 in F minor, composed 1938-46, is juxtaposed with Ross Lee Finney's tender, optimistic suite of folk tunes, Fiddle-Doodle-Ad (1948). The sunny, rambunctious disposition of Beethoven's 8th Violin Sonata sets the context for some of Beethoven's inner turmoil in the early 1800s. Beethoven was conflicted: he admired Napoleon Bonaparte, but he also sensed that Napoleon had his military eye on Austria. Shortly after the publication of this work, Napoleon marched into Vienna and brazenly declared himself Austrian Emperor. Leoš Janáček's turbulent Violin Sonata is steeped in Moravian folk music. "I wrote the Violin Sonata at the beginning of the war when we were expecting the Russians in Moravia," he said. But those hopes were dashed on August 1, 1914, when Germany declared war on Russia. Janáček later dramatically inscribed this momentous date into the manuscript of the Sonata, which he published in 1922.

 

EXPLORE THE FULL PROGRAM AND NOTES

Date & Time

Fri, Oct 27, 2023 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Venue Details

PS21 Black Box Theater

2980 New York 66
Chatham, New York 12037 PS21 Black Box Theater
PS/21 Inc

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About PS21

A vibrant center for contemporary performance in the Hudson Valley, PS21 “presents work that challenges and invites” (The New York Times): adventurous productions by leading and emerging American and international artists in music, dance, and theater, and visionaries creating entirely new genres. On our open-air Pavilion Theater stage, across our expansive, unspoiled grounds, and in the diverse surrounding communities, PS21 cultivates and presents productions that transcend aesthetic boundaries and revitalize existing artistic languages and grammars. Throughout the year, we host developmental residencies for dancers, musicians, actors, and creators of original, even unclassifiable new work. Rooted in community collaboration, PS21’s programming engages creatively with critical global and social issues. It is a mecca for innovative and original artistic voices, a destination for performance that can be experienced nowhere else in the region. PS21’s Pavilion Theater is a green-energy marvel surrounded by 100 acres of unspoiled meadows, trails, and woodlands that are a haven to wildlife and visitors across the region.  Integrated into our unspoiled campus, the theater embodies our commitments to the public: open, inviting, and optimized for their enjoyment and encouraging citizen expression and participation.

 

Photography
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