Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) — Nonet in F minor, Op. 2
Joesf Bohuslav Foerster (1859-1951) — Nonet, Op. 147
Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959) — Nonet, No. 2, H 374

A nonet is a composition that requires nine musicians, usually a wind quintet plus a violin, viola, cello, and double bass. But our concert will feature ten musicians—why? Because one of our nonets calls for piano instead of flute. Our first work is by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, a British composer of mixed-race descent (his father was from Sierra Leone) who was named after the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Like his namesake’s poetry, his music is filled with sweep and Romantic charm; his nonet is a major work that is both immediate and resonant. Works by two composers from Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) fill the second half of the concert. Despite their common heritage, these two men lived very different lives and their music reflects those differences. Foerster spent some time in Hamburg and Vienna but mostly stayed close to home. His nonet does too—it is pastoral and Bohemian in every best sense of those words. Martinů became a quintessential 20th-century composer living in Paris between the wars: urbane, witty, clever, and fun-loving—and his nonet displays the same characteristics.

The orchestra’s music director, Jed Gaylin, will give a talk about the Saturday evening concert before that performance, sharing his insights into the works being performed. The talk will begin at 6:30 p.m. and last about a half hour. Anyone can attend.

Henry Cowell (1897–1965) — Hymn and Fuguing Tune No. 10
Joesph Haydn (1732–1809) — Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) — Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550

This concert is a tale of two halves: one gracious and radiant; the other fiery, stormy, and mostly unrelenting. But who would have thought a 20th-century American composer (Cowell) and Haydn would provide the more easy-going half, and that Mozart would provide the storminess and stress? Cowell’s piece delights with warm and gentle melodies of Americana, developed in a welcoming gesture with deftness that belies its rigor. Haydn’s concerto displays a similar radiance and is a technical showcase for our brilliant guest cello soloist, Amit Peled. All this good cheer sets up a dramatic conclusion in Mozart’s most famous and surprisingly confessional symphony.