MERRY PRANKS at 92Y

Richard Strauss revolutionized the art of orchestral storytelling, bringing to life such unforgettable characters as Till Eulenspiegel, a devious trickster from German folklore. Our second concert in our new series at the 92nd Street Y features this uproarious arrangement by the Australian composer Brett Dean, which compresses the score into sharp-tongued chamber music for winds and strings. Thanks to neoclassical concertos by Falla and Martinů, the long-neglected harpsichord found a fresh face in modern music, a legacy still being advanced today by the iconoclastic virtuoso Mahan Esfahani. The French composer Jean Françaix, always a source of lightness and joy, applied his instrumental prowess to a new version of the Quintet for Piano and Winds, about which Mozart declared, “I myself consider it to be the best thing I have written in my life.”

Program

Mahan Esfahani, harpsichord

FALLA: Harpsichord Concerto for Five Instruments
MOZART: Nonet after Quintet K. 452 (arr. Jean Françaix)
MARTINU: Harpsichord Concerto
STRAUSS: Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks (arr. Brett Dean)

NOW HEAR THIS!

Works listed in red are part of Now Hear This, a new Orpheus initiative dedicated to re-imagining musical gems from the past with new orchestration!