concert:nova

About the music
The night starts off in Spain with the galante style of Italian-turned Spanish composer Luigi Boccherini in "Night Music from the Streets of Madrid" and the richly optimistic songs of Joaquin Rodrigo, sung by soprano Ellen Wieser, followed by Manuel deFalla's Andalusian influenced "Spanish Popular Suite". Moving to South America, an aria from Bachianas Brasilieras No 5 for soprano and strings is a powerfully evocative example of the music of Heitor Villa-Lobos, an impressionistic and nationalistic Brazilian composer in the early 1900s.  We hear the powerful and raucous first movement of the String Quartet No 1 by Alberto Ginastera, as well as a musical landscape painting "Impressiones de la Puna", rich and lush with Argentinean folk themes for flute and strings. The passionate and elaborately rhythmic voice of the tango is featured in a set of pieces by Astor Piazzolla, who revolutionized the fusion of jazz and classical styles. NY-city based up and coming composer David Little's descanso is built on the traditional Spanish idea of a resting spot marked by flowers or a cross in memory of a deceased loved one, and is a reflective essay on the feeling of potential loss. The night ends with a set of jazz tunes, from Paquito d'Rivera's spicy Wapango, to an Afro-Cuban Siboney, and sexy Cirando do Mundo by Brazilian singer-songwriter Maria Rita.

About the art
Local artist Anya Gerasimchuk is a Russian-born painter that emphasizes the connection between various art forms in her work: dance, music & graphic arts. Her Piazzolla- and de Falla-influenced canvases will be a visual highlight dancing in tandem to the sounds of concert:nova's musicians.  In her words, "My abstract compositions are the manifestations of gratitude towards the beauty of the real-life objects or events. They always carry simple titles, like "Rain", "Flamenco", "Wind". My more realistic oil paintings use the "visible surface" of the existing objects or people to once again be integrated into a more abstract and emotional environment - to again express my own fascination by the beauty of the real-life world or the richness of human emotions. The majority of the works, therefore, are a mix of real and abstract, an attempt to unite the visible and the hidden. They are my emotional interpretations of the real world of things, places and events."
Learn more at http://www.anyagerasimchuk.com/

natural selection, celebrating the beauty of our planet
Vivaldi "Winter" from the Four Seasons (Tatiana Berman, soloist)
Schubert "The Trout" Quintet
Debussy "Afternoon of a Faun"
J.S. Bach Violin Sonata in Gm
Celtic song "Secret Garden"
Buyukyildirim "Friends"   

natural selection, celebrating the beauty of our planet
Vivaldi "Winter" from the Four Seasons (Tatiana Berman, soloist)/ Schubert "The Trout" Quintet/ Debussy "Afternoon of a Faun"/ J.S. Bach Violin Sonata in Gm/ Celtic song "Secret Garden"/ Buyukyildirim "Friends"   

Duo for Bass Viols from Concerts Royaux  François Couperin
LA 66 Quartet  Nico Abondolo
Jazz Trio for Trumpet, Trombone and Piano  Rolando Morales
La Bouche Aime & Tutto che il Mondo Serra  Giovanni Bottesini
Arie der Tochter Zion, Fliess o heisser Tranenbach
    from the oratorio Der verurteilte Jesus  Johann Ernst Eberlin
Failing for solo bass  Tom Johnson
Watermelon Man for ensemble  Herbie Hancock

Syrinx for solo Flute Claude Debussy
Choros No. 2 for Flute & Clarinet Heitor Villa Lobos
Concerto in g minor Antonio Vivaldi
Movements from Quartet for the End of Time Olivier Messiaen
Flute Quartet in C Major Wolfgang Mozart
Excerpts from Histoire du Soldat Igor Stravinsky
Oblivion Astor Piazzolla

Syrinx for solo Flute Claude Debussy
Choros No. 2 for Flute & Clarinet Heitor Villa Lobos
Concerto in g minor Antonio Vivaldi
Movements from Quartet for the End of Time Olivier Messiaen
Flute Quartet in C Major Wolfgang Mozart
Excerpts from Histoire du Soldat Igor Stravinsky
Oblivion Astor Piazzolla