LINCOLN CENTER

Alice Tully Hall
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Concerto Night!

Leclair - Concerto in B-flat major for Violin, Strings, and Continuo, Op. 10, No. 1 (1745)
Mozart - Concerto in D minor for Piano and Strings, K. 466 (arr. Carl Czerny) (1785)
Bach - Concerto in G minor for Keyboard, BWV 975 (after Vivaldi RV 316) (1713-14)
Shostakovich - Impromptu for Viola and Piano (US Premiere) (1931)
Janáček - Concertino for Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, Two Violins, Viola, and Piano (1925)
Mackey - Micro-Concerto for Solo Percussion, Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello, and Piano (1999)

"Since the Baroque era, concertos have mined the technical capabilities of both instrument and performer, increasing in difficulty and spectacle through the ages. CMS’s season finale is designed simply to dazzle and delight, a lasting reminder of the thrilling possibilities of chamber music."




"As this concert title’s exclamation point implies, this is an occasion of celebration and excitement. It also marks the last opportunity we will have to greet you before July’s Summer Eveningsconcerts renew our mutual engagement in the art of chamber music. The concert which concludes a season as rich as this past one invites us to reflect on the journey we have taken together, through centuries of music by composers of many lands, performed by CMS’s incomparable roster of season and guest artists. We thank you for being a part of it, and hope that your experience with CMS has been as rewarding musically, and personally, as it has been for us.

Simply doing the math on today’s composition dates tells us that the concerto has been around for at least 300 years. Obviously, the form has proven popular and successful, and provided both composers and performers with opportunities for musical innovation and adventure. The idea of concerto—a piece which features one or more instruments in a solo role—originated in the Baroque period, as instruments themselves and the technical skills for playing them improved. This allowed them to be liberated from supporting roles and to be featured as the protagonists in works such as the early concerti grossiof composers such as Corelli in the early 18th century. The importance of the soloist grew alongside the evolution of music itself, and in the 18th and 19th centuries, composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Brahms took the form to new heights. And in modern times as well, the concerto form thrived in the hands of Ravel, Shostakovich, Barber, Dutilleux, Lutosławski, all the way to Steven Mackey, whose stunning Micro-Concertowe’ve chosen to send you off on a most thrilling note.

Lastly, we wish to express our admiration of our “soloists” today, who bravely confront the challenges that concertos present. One of history’s most charming (and substantiated) composer quotes comes from Mozart, who responded to his father’s admonition that his new concerto was too difficult to play: “But Father, it’s a concerto. It’s supposed to be hard and you have to practice it a lot!”

Mozart was five at the time."