OK, five reasons why you want to hear Juno’s next concert! Sunday, February 10, at 3 p.m., at the Latchis Theatre, Brattleboro’s downtown performance home.
- Juno continues to shine as a top-flight chamber orchestra, Vermont’s newest! Most of the players come from the area right around Brattleboro.
- It’s Juno’s debut at the Latchis Theatre in downtown Brattleboro.
- This concert features Juno’s string section, expanded to present the rich, complicated, and stunningly beautiful textures created by American Philip Glass and Czech Antonin Dvořák.
- The concert, full of passion, is the Sunday prior to Valentine’s Day. Perfect way to get in the mood. Maybe a meal after the concert?
- Live music, THIS live music, promises amazing things. You will not be disappointed.
Program
Battalia, Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1644-1704)
String Quartet No. 5, arranged for string orchestra, Philip Glass (b. 1937)
Serenade for Strings, Op. 22, Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904)
Tickets $10-40
Call 802.257.4523
Online
Juno Orchestra
The Juno Orchestra is Vermont’s newest professional chamber orchestra, engaging musicians from the tri-state area surrounding Brattleboro, Vermont, a small, startlingly vibrant arts community. The Orchestra is in residence at the Brattleboro Music Center.
Brief program information
Battalia by Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber
Most humans likely have little stomach for the pains and grief of war. But, perhaps like journalists, composers reflect upon all manner of human propensities as they ‘report’ upon the world and our human condition. Composers from Jannequin to Tchaikovsky, from Beethoven to Britten have explored the implications of battle, in victory and defeat. Biber’s Battalia, surely one of the most ingenious compositions of its time, is a spirited reflection on the deeply devastating Thirty Years War that ravaged Europe in the early- to mid-17th century. Brief, pointed movements create contemporary reactions to a number of elements associated with war: calls to battle, battle itself, meetings among divergent cultures, and finally lament.
String Quartet No. 5 by Philip Glass
New York composer Philip Glass has, to date, written six string quartets. About his fifth quartet, commissioned for the Kronos Quartet in the early 1990s, Glass has said, “I was thinking that I had really gone beyond the need to write a serious string quartet and that I could write a quartet that is about musicality, which in a certain way is the most serious subject.” The five continuously played movements are rich and compelling, churning in a full-throated circular and minimalist style. Zon Eastes commented about the piece, “This quartet offers a particularly grand scope. I performed the quartet many years ago, and even then, recognized its potential for string orchestra.” A string bass part has been added to Glass’ score, and appropriate permissions have been earned from Glass himself.
Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 by Antonin Dvořák
In 1875, Antonin Dvořák was a new father as he wrote the Serenade for Strings, certainly one of his most beautiful and inviting compositions. Married two years earlier, he was also on the verge of international success, having won the Austrian State Prize thanks to the influence of Johannes Brahms, an ardent fan. The prize provided a significant stipend that allowed Dvořák a focus resulting in a burst of high-quality compositions that solidified his reputation as a top-flight composer. Composed in just twelve days, the Serenade lifts and lilts through five stunning movements, finally circling back to the calm and repose of the Serenade’s opening bars.
That title
Senza Zefiri means ‘without winds (breezes).’ It’s cold outside and this concert has no wind players.
Juno Orchestra 