One of the preeminent string ensembles in the world, the Russian String Orchestra, conducted by Misha Rachlevsky, will perform new works by six composition students from the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music on November, 5 at 7 pm in Schoenberg Hall.
Monday, November 5, 2018, 7pm
Russian String Orchestra: U.S. Premiere of Six Student Compositions
Schoenberg Hall, Free Admission
Composition professor Richard Danielpour proposed to the Director of the Russian String Orchestra, Misha Rachlevsky, that the Herb Alpert School of Music organize a residency for the RSO at UCLA in which six student composers from the composition program would be selected to have one of their compositions performed in concert by the RSO at Schoenberg Hall. Maestro Rachlevsky was so impressed by the six pieces that he decided to premiere these six works with the RSO in Moscow in October, before arriving in the U.S. on the RSO’s American tour, which began on November 1, 2018.
Listen below to hear these six student works performed for the first time in Moscow by the Russian String Orchestra.
Sinfonia
Anthony Constantino
“Sinfonia for String Orchestra is entirely derived from a single five-
note melodic motive. The piece begins fiercely, alternating between
homophonic and contrapuntal textures until it comes to a cadence.”
– Anthony Constantino
Lost In Lut
Shahab Paranj
“Lost in Lut is built upon microtonal harmony combined with a fragment
of a short melody from Persian classical music. The emphasis on
pizzicato technique imitates the Persian plucked string “setar” and
“tanbour,” playing in a dance rhythm.”
– Shahab Paranj
The Deepest Hour
Kenneth Glendon
“Go into yourself. Find out the reason that commands you to write;
see whether it has spread its roots into the very depths of your heart;
confess to yourself whether you would have to die if you were forbidden to write.
This most of all: ask yourself in the most silent hour of your night: must I write?”
– Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
Listen To Me
Dante Luna
“Although the self-imposed limitations seemed to narrow
my possibilities, I found to my surprise that I felt incredibly free to
express my inner-emotions; that is, the piece reflects my experience
of being overly serious, a naïve”
– Dante Luna
Toccata and Intermezzo
Mason Swan Lewis
“The most defining characteristic of the work are the
fast, virtuosic passages that all instruments, with the exception
of the contrabass, have to perform. In an ABA form, the middle
section distances itself from the surrounding music as reserved, yet
emotional and poignant.”
– Mason Swan Lewis
My Idols Are Dead
Marcus Norris
“My idols are dead.
My choices were blind.
I’ve never heard God.
The voices were Mine.”
– Marcus Norris