Violinist Claudia Schaer and pianist Marc Peloquin play wonderful contemporary American violin-piano duos; a wealth of genres and styles sparkles at their fingertips.
Featuring:
Claudia Schaer, violin
Marc Peloquin, piano
Program:
Ellen Taaffe Zwilich ~ Partita (2000)
I. Introduction and Allegro
II. Serenade
III. Tango
IV. Meditation
V. Finale
Jessie Montgomery ~ Peace (2020)
Christopher James ~ Labyrinths, 2nd mvt (2024)
Max Lifchitz ~ Raoul’s Tango-Waltz, from Four Tango Sketches (2022)
Ernesto Lecuona (arr. Ed Cionek) ~ La Comparsa (1912/2024)
Andrew Thomas ~ Premonitions (2017)
About the featured works:
Philip Wharton’s Tombeau de Ravel harkens back not just to the impressionist composer Ravel, but also even earlier, to baroque composer François Couperin, two older legacies doubly inspiring vivid fresh imagination. Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Partita is a light-hearted and fun take on many genres, including fiddle music, tango, and a serenade. Jessie Montgomery composed Peace in 2020; it is a deeply pensive yet also hopeful meditation on sadness as part of the fabric of life. Christopher James wrote Labyrinths for Claudia Schaer and Marc Péloquin, who premiered and recorded it in spring 2024; it is a very expressive 12-tone work with many-faceted phrases and characters. Max Lifchitz’ Raoul’s Tango-Waltz, from Four Tango Sketches (which Claudia Schaer and the North/South Consonance Ensemble premiered in the original chamber orchestra version in 2022), is a tongue-in-cheek fusion of tango and waltz styles. Ed Cionek’s arrangement of Ernesto Lecuona’s La Comparsa pays homage to the incomparable Cuban composer and the carnival tradition. The program ends with Andrew Thomas’ colourful Premonitions, written for and premiered by Claudia Schaer and the North/South Consonance Ensemble in a ten-instrument version in 2017, later transcribed by the composer for violin and piano. The inscription reads, “…with affection and joy…” – and the singing and dancing work communicates that although premonitions are often worrisome, potentially, things just might turn out well in the end!
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