Leon Fleisher

Philadelphia Chamber Music Society
Musicians from Network for New Music
Leon Fleisher, conductor

Stravinsky: In Memoriam Dylan Thomas
Hindemith: Kammermusik No. 1
Ligeti: Aventures / Nouvelles Aventures

Maestro Fleisher leads an ensemble of all-star musicians performing chamber music masterpieces of the 20th Century. The evening begins with a seven minute work by Stravinsky. He had hoped to compose an opera in collaboration with Dylan Thomas. Thomas's death, he wrote, was "a terrible blow to me as well as to all those who knew Dylan Thomas's genius." Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night," with the refrain "Rage, rage against the dying of the light," is framed by Stravinsky with a dirge for four trombones. Hindemith's Kammermusik, No. 1 is a cheerful, irreverent suite which manifests clear reference to his early experience performing in dance bands and musical comedy orchestras in and around Frankfurt. Concluding the program is Ligeti's "mimodramas" Aventures and Nouvelles Aventures. For this composer, the ridiculous is constantly amalgamated with the sublime into breathtaking composites. These two interlinked works are further examples of an absurdist theatricality, employing an arsenal of shrieks, whispers, erotic grunts, and giggles for its vocalists and an accompaniment of popped paper bags and smashed plates.

All artists and programs subject to change.

• Seating Charts
• Ticket Information and Gift Certificates
• Planning Your Visit
• View the Full Calendar