| January 26, 2008 |
As part of Jacaranda’s concert series celebrating the music of Olivier Messiaen and the artists who influenced him, the “In Captivity” concert will include works by J.S. Bach, Alban Berg, Maurice Ravel, and Olivier Messiaen.
This concert offers the wartime experiences of a soldier who tenaciously guarded his backpack stuffed with miniature scores. When Messiaen’s squadron, which included a gifted clarinetist, marched through France they stopped at a church where the composer played Bach’s most famous organ work.
After their capture by German soldiers, Messiaen escaped into Berg. Once in Stalag VIIIA, another prisoner shared the bench of a discarded piano to play Ravel’s four hands masterpiece. Out of these experiences Messiaen composed his most beloved work, “Quartet for the End of Time.” It premiered in sub-freezing weather inside the camp January 15, 1941.
Soprano Elissa Johnston will be performing with the Denali Quartet. Mark Alan Hilt will play the organ and share the piano bench with Gloria Cheng.
WHEN: 8:00pm
ADMISSION: $25 General/$10 Students
WHERE: First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica
ADDRESS: 1220 Second Street, Santa Monica, CA, 90401
CONTACT: www.jacarandamusic.org
