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Chamber Music Concert – Richard Strauss, “Four Last Songs” – New Arrangement for Chamber


RiverArts Chamber Music Series celebrates 2022 with a world premiere performance of a new adaptation for soprano and chamber ensemble of Richard Strauss’ Four Last Songs. This work has been commissioned by RiverArts in association with PREformances Chamber Collaborative.

Esteemed New York City composer Paul Brantley adapted Strauss’ original, scored for soprano and full orchestra, for a chamber octet. This new work is scored for soprano, clarinet, string quartet, double bass, and piano. More than a reduction or adaptation, it is analogous to a translation into a new language while at the same time being note for note faithful to the original. According to the New Grove Dictionary of Music, “These autumnal, luminescent late songs… are among Strauss’s finest works in any genre.” They were written in 1948 near the end of Strauss’ life and were not performed until 1950, after his death.

Paul Brantley is a contemporary composer much in demand. In addition to his own compositions, he has made a specialty of these kinds of adaptations. “I relish the opportunity to have a creative encounter with such a great work — and with the extraordinary poetry of Hermann Hesse which Strauss sets. My modus operandi is not so much to (re-) arrange the work but to adapt it as faithfully and idiomatically as possible.”

Also on the program are Brahms’ Clarinet Trio and Stravinsky’s Suite from A Soldier’s Tale.

Event Location and Ticket Information

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St. Barnabas Episcopal Church
2 Revolutionary Road
Ardsley, NY
Handicap Accessible? Yes

Date: Sunday, March 6, 2022
Times: 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Ticket pricing:

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Presenter: RiverArts and PREformances Chamber Collaborative
Presenter Phone: (917) 324-4590
Presenter Website: https://riverarts.org/event/strauss-four-last-songs-new-arrangement-premiere/