4th Annual Concert on the Quad - Dance Into Spring

ARAM
KHACHATURIAN

Khachaturian’s Masquerade suite is derived from his composition of incidental music to accompany a play of the same title. The play premiered in 1941 in Moscow, and was the Vakhtangov Theatre’s last production before the USSR was invaded by Germany. 

GEORGE
GERSHWIN

An American in Paris was composed by Gershwin during and after a series of trips to Paris to study with musicians such as Ravel and Boulanger. Due to its extensive and nontraditional instrumentation, the piece has faced countless edits and has been changed, restored, and changed again and again in order to make it more performable. 

ANDY
LENKO

Dance for Orchestra was inspired by the sounds and styles of the tango. As is common for the style, harmonic progressions tend to be repetitive and on the simpler side of things. In order to create interest, the melodies weave and wind, interacting with syncopated counter-melodies that are often rather chromatic. The piece begins with large orchestral hits, followed by a cadenza like solo on the clarinet. In addition to setting the mood, the opening hits serve as guide posts throughout, recuring in various ways. They are also sonic imitations of the sharp and dramatic flares, poses, and head snaps that are synonymous with the dance. 

CAMILLE
SAINT SAENS

After the Greek god Bacchus, the Bacchanale is a dance based in revelry and abandon. It is one of the most well known moments of Saint Saens’ opera “Samson et Dalila”, a musical staging accurate to the story from the bible.

program notes courtesy of Natalie Repper