Composers of the Month: Arvo Part and Antonin Dvorak
Arvo Pärt (b 1935)
Among this year’s celebrations of Pärt’s
75th birthday on September 11 were
a conference at Boston University
entitled Arvo Pärt and Contemporary
Spirituality, and the premiere of his
latest composition, Adam’s Lament
for chorus and orchestra, in Istanbul
(jointly commissioned by the 2010 and
2011 European Capitals of Culture,
Istanbul and Tallinn). Born near Tallinn,
the capital of Estonia, Pärt emigrated
in 1980; he now lives in Berlin. Strongly
influenced by his own religious faith and
his study of Renaissance polyphony,
he has become admired particularly
for his works of sacred choral music.
We’ll sample both his vocal and his
instrumental music.
Antonin Dvorák (1841-1904)
We’ll celebrate Dvorák’s September 8
birthday and play his works elsewhere
throughout the month. “With Smetana,
Fibich, and Janacek,” according to the
2001 Grove’s Dictionary, “[Dvorák] is
regarded as one of the great nationalist
Czech composers of the 19th century.”
Championed and promoted by Brahms,
Dvorák saw his music find audiences
beyond his homeland in Germany,
England, and the United States, where
he lived in the early 1890s and where he
wrote his beloved New
World Symphony.
Artists of the Month: Yo-Yo Ma and Sir Charles Mackerras
Yo-Yo Ma
The world-renowned cellist was named
the Judson and Joyce Green Creative
Consultant to the Chicago Symphony
in December 2009. He’ll work with
the orchestra’s Institute for Learning,
Access and Training, and will lead
chamber-music residencies to engage
young musicians. Ma’s artistry as a
soloist and chamber musician, and as
leader of the cross-cultural Silk Road
Project, is well-documented on the
recordings WFMT will sample
this month.
Sir Charles Mackerras (1925-2010)
Writing in the New York Times on
July 15, Allan Kozinn said: “Mr
Mackerras was known for performances
that were revelatory not only because of
their clarity and precision, their astutely
judged balances and their consideration
of period style, but also because they
invariably sounded so deeply felt. He
seemed to have an unerring instinct for
the right string weights and inflections
in Classical and early Romantic works,
the right ornaments in Baroque music
and the right sense of earthy realism in
contemporary scores.”
