Metamorphoses November 6, 2008

Metamorphoses
Left Coast Chamber Ensemble
Thursday, November 6 8:00pm
$20.00 General Admission, $15.00 Students/Seniors
Buy tickets at TicketWeb or by calling 415.383.9600

Program
Benjamin Britten, Six Metamorphoses after Ovid, Opus 49 for oboe solo
William Beck, Candy for the Witch Mouth for oboe, violin, viola and cello WORLD PREMIERE
Ernest Bloch, Cello Suite #1
Wayne Peterson, String Trio WORLD PREMIERE
Ernst von Dohnanyi, Serenade in C major for String Trio, Op 10 (1902)

Left Coast Chamber Ensemble opens its 2008-2009 Season with Metamorphoses, inspired by Benjamin Britten’s Six Metamorphoses after Ovid and featuring world premieres of works by William Beck and Wayne Peterson. The concert opens with Benjamin Britten’s Six Metamorphoses after Ovid, opus 49, a musical depiction of six characters from Greek myths. This brilliant solo piece, a staple of the oboe repertoire, is paired with a world premiere by William Beck. His evocatively titled Candy for the Witch Mouth is scored for oboe, English horn, violin, viola and cello. According to Beck, "We're gonna get candy for the witch mouth" is how a toddler (dressed up as a witch) verbalizes her understanding of rapping on strangers’ doors on a random night in October, with the plan of using some unusual clothing to obtain otherwise forbidden sweets.

Also featured in the program is Ernest Bloch’s Cello Suite #1. Like the Britten this piece dates from the 1950s. In this work, believed by many to be among Bloch’s finest compositions, the composer draws on the inspiration of Bach’s masterpieces for the solo cello. Artistic Director Anna Presler notes that “audiences will enjoy comparing how two great 20th century composers put the resources of oboe and cello to optimal expressive use.” The cello soloist for these performances will be LCCE’s Leighton Fong.

Two works for strings complete the program. Dohnanyi’s romantic and lively Serenade in C major for String Trio is one of the best pieces in the repertoire for this combination of instruments. A new string trio by Pulitzer Prize-winning Bay Area composer Wayne Peterson receives its world premiere at these concerts. Peterson will work closely with the ensemble as they prepare the work for performance.

For the first time since 1999, Left Coast audiences will hear the ensemble’s two oboists, Andrea Plesnarski and Tom Nugent, together in concert. The oboists are featured in the Beck and Britten respectively.

ABOUT LCCE
The Left Coast Chamber Ensemble is a versatile group of twelve musicians that performs in different combinations. In addition to its regular season at Green Room in San Francisco and 142Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley, the ensemble performs special concerts for other presenters such as the Other Minds Festival, Berkeley Chamber Performances, and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

Left Coast presents chamber music, new and old. Concerts feature new music by well-known composers such as Andrew Imbrie, Gyorgy Ligeti, Mario Davidovsky, Jennifer Higdon, and John Adams, plus works by emerging composers like Philippe Bodin, Harold Meltzer, Mei Fang Lin, and Laurie San Martin. Left Coast also presents compositions by ensemble members Kurt Rohde (Founding Artistic Director, violist) and Eric Zivian (pianist). Programs include important chamber works from previous centuries by composers including John Dowland, Johannes Brahms, Ludwig van Beethoven, Aaron Copland, and Igor Stravinsky.

Official Website: http://www.142throckmortontheatre.org