Jacaranda "music at the edge" Concert: Giants of Russian Music

The February 18th concert of Jacaranda, the classical music series known for rarely heard and modern music, takes its inspiration from Russia's nesting Matryoshka dolls. The centerpiece of the program is a 1979 tribute to the three leading Russian composers of the 20th century by the towering composer Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998) — Hommage to Stravinsky, Prokofiev & Shostakovich. Like wooden dolls of decreasing size placed inside one another, Schnittke musically puts three composers inside of himself. Russian nesting dolls were first carved in 1890 and made famous in Paris at the 1900 World's Exhibition.

Pianist Danny Holt performs Shostakovich's Preludes & Fugues 11 & 12. Yana Reznik performs Three Pieces from Cinderella, and Vicki Ray performs Stravinsky's Sonata. Then, together they perform the Schnittke tribute. After intermission, Lyris Quartet performs Stravinsky's Concertino, and Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 3.

Patrick Scott, Jacaranda's artistic director, describes the music: "Shostakovich's interest in Bach as a model of simplicity and formal beauty is evident in the name Preludes & Fugues. Prokofiev's love of rich and colorful storytelling comes out of a ballet score for a fairy tale. Stravinsky was especially fascinated with the tension between refinement and abandon in his Sonata. Then Schnittke gives this great troika of composers a wild tribute. After intermission the two string quartets to be played by Lyris offer Stravinsky's witty, tart and sparkling remnant of post-WWI euphoria, and Shostakovich's intimate emotional canvas from the aftermath of WWII."

A Jacaranda regular, Danny Holt is a member of The Robin Cox Ensemble, and can be seen performing with the LA Philharmonic and its New Music Group. Holt has performed with the Bang on a Can All-Stars, the California EAR Unit, CalArts New Century Players, and the Calder Quartet. He was a fellow at the Bang on a Can Summer Music Institute, the New England Conservatory Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice, and the Weill Music Workshop at Carnegie Hall.

Making her Jacaranda debut, Yana Reznik, born in Russia, has appeared at Alice Tully Hall, The Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and the Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia. Reznik made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2002 as a winner of the Artists International Competition. She participated in the Aspen Music Festival, Piano Summers at New Paltz, Russia, East-West International Academy in Germany, and Vivaldi Neuilly Pleasance in France.

Vicki Ray, who helped close the 2010-11 Jacaranda season, is artistic director of the California E.A.R. Unit and Xtet. As a founding member of Piano Spheres, she has been a long-time champion of new music. Ray has been featured on the LA Philharmonic Green Umbrella Series, with the LA Chamber Orchestra, LA Master Chorale, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players and the Blue Rider Ensemble of Toronto, with whom she made the first Canadian recording of Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire. Her recordings include the Reich You Are Variations, and Morton Feldman’s Crippled Symmetries.  

Lyris Quartet was founded in 2008 to perform standard and modern repertoire as well as commission works from living composers. Lyris has performed at LACMA's Bing Theater, the Broad Stage, Zipper Hall at The Colburn School, Royce Hall, Disney Hall and the Long Beach Opera. Other appearances include the South Bay Chamber Music Series, LA Music Guild, and LA Musical Salon. Lyris was quartet-in-residence at the 2010 Beverly Hills Music Festival. Recent appearances include the Annenberg Beach House and Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Society. 

Tickets are available at www.jacarandamusic.org, or by calling 1-800-595-4TIX.  Purchased online, tickets are $35 general and $15 for students, or at the door the evening of the concert $40 general/$20 for students. 

###

About Jacaranda

Jacaranda, with a motto of  “music at the edge,” is a series of intimate concert adventures that combines the rarely heard with the new in thematic contexts to awaken a sense of discovery and connection. Founded in 2003 by arts impresario Patrick Scott and conductor/organist Mark Alan Hilt, Jacaranda produces a series of concerts (11 this season) in Santa Monica that feature current and rising stars in the world of classical music performance.  For more information or to purchase tickets go to www.jacarandamusic.org.