Solo Violin Recital: “Under a Tree, We Wander”

Joshua Peckins, Violin

BACH - SONATA NO 1 IN A MINOR

PAGANINI - CAPRICE NO 10

DU YUN - UNDER A TREE, AN UDATTA FOR VIOLIN AND TAPE

SHIRISH KORDE - SVARA YANTRA

WOLFGANG VON SCHWEINITZ - PLAINSOUND ETUDE

"Under a Tree, We Wander" explores the many musics and sounds of human feeling and creation. Bach's glorious Solo Sonata in A Minor - an exquisite example from the High Baroque, with sublime slow movements, a dazzling fugue, and a fiery finish! - is juxtaposed with Schweinitz's Plainsound Etude, a piece that explores notes between the notes, expanding upon the conventional 12-note musical scale in a way that is both provocative and illuminating when considered against Bach's music. Pulitzer Prize winning composer Du Yun's "Under a Tree, an Udatta for Violin and Tape" combines an electronic recording of Vedic Sanskrit chanting with a live performance of a cadenza-like violin solo, to a shockingly vivid and powerfully evocative effect. Shirish Korde's "Svara Yantra" was originally written as a violin concerto, combining Indian and Western classical music aesthetics. On this program, the first movement is presented as a solo violin piece with a tanpura drone, arranged by the composer. Paganini's Caprice No 10 has been astonishing audiences with its virtuosity since its premiere by the legendary virtuoso Paganini himself. "Under a Tree, We Wander" offers an incredibly broad variety of musical styles and sounds, and demonstrates the vast range of expression and aesthetics that are possible on the classical violin - and in the human imagination.

This concert is presented by the Somerville Libraries, and will take place in the Atrium of the Somerville Library West Branch. Please contact the library for registration information and other details before going to the event.