On Friday, March 26, 8pm, St. Matthew’s Music Guild, 1031 Bienveneda Ave., Pacific Palisades.
Members of The Chamber Orchestra at St. Matthew’s, under the directiton of Thomas Neenan, contextualize Eisler’s Nonett Nr. 2 (“Zirkus†) with an arrangement of Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer by fellow exile Arnold Schoenberg, and Appalachian Spring by American composer Aaron Copland, who fought to prevent Eisler’s deportation. Also featured on the program will be Eisler’s satirical song, “Sputnik,†composed by Eisler while living in the former East Germany following his deportation.
Hanns Eisler was a devoted student of Arnold Schoenberg following World War I when the composer and several of his students formed the Society for Private Musical Performance – a group devoted to private (critic-free) performances of new music. Among the works for chamber ensemble to come out of the society’s activities was Schoenberg’s arrangement of Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer which will be performed by baritone Edward Levy.
While in America, Eisler made the acquaintance of many important composers, including Stravinsky, Copland and Leonard Bernstein (all of whom organized benefit concerts to raise money for Eisler’s defense). Copland, whose name also appeared on the “Red Channels†list will be represented in the concert by a performance of the original thirteen-instrument version of Appalachian Spring, composed in 1944 for the Martha Graham Dance Company.
Eisler’s Septet No. 2, “Zirkus,†was composed in 1947, the year before his deportation. Eisler made use of sketches for a score planned for his friend Charlie Chaplin’s silent film “Circus.†The score represents a return to what Eisler called a “friendlier and happier character of music,†following the more assertive and acerbic style of earlier compositions.
Tickets for the concert are $35 and are available through the Music Guild’s website: www.MusicGuildOnline or at the door the night of the concert.
