With all the weird and wonderful noises wind instruments are capable of, it’s no wonder that composers often turn to them in pieces about the animal world. In Music for Fleeting Birds, Pēteris Vasks draws sounds of haunting avian beauty from the wind quintet. Bruno Mantovani’s Bug asks the solo clarinettist to channel all the droning, chirping and whining they are capable of. Melody Eötvös’s House of the Beehives depicts the Italo Calvino story of the same name, in all its buzzy, melancholy and grisly glory. Also featured is the winner of the Arcadia Winds Composition Prize, a piece written on a similar zoological theme. A wind quintet interpretation of John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s Blackbird beautifully rounds out our musical safari.
PROGRAM
Pēteris Vasks | Music for Fleeting Birds
Melody Eötvös | House of the Beehives
Bruno Mantovani | Bug for solo clarinet
2020 Arcadia Winds Composition Prize recipient | New work (world premiere)
Paul McCartney/John Lennon | Blackbird
image credit: Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay