My choice is: ...
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson chose April, but what will this year's artists choose when asked to select their favorite composers and works?
About the concert
These are some of the choices this year's artists made: Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, Bartók's duets for two violas, and three of Amanda Maier-Röntgen's Six Pieces for Violin and Piano.
The music closest to their hearts isn't always something artists get to perform during a busy career. This concert is special because the musicians themselves get to curate their personal favorites.
These are the pieces they return to, again and again.
Additional Content
Concert program
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Songs of Travel
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958): From Songs of Travel (1901–04)
- The Vagabond
- The Roadside Fire
- Whither Must I Wander
- Youth and Love
- I Have Trod the Upward and Downward Slope
(Text: Robert Louis Stevenson)
Vaughan Williams's first song cycle, composed in 1901–1904, set to poems by Robert Louis Stevenson. We have selected five songs that offer insight into a musical language with distinct English folk music influences. The work is today part of the standard repertoire for baritone soloists.
Performers:
- Roderick Williams, baritone
- Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
Roderick Williams: Knepp Piano Trio
Roderick Williams (b. 1965): Knepp Piano Trio (2019)
Performers:
- Trio Leikínn
Lili Boulanger: Trois morceaux pour piano
Lili Boulanger (1893–1918): Trois morceaux pour piano (1914)
- D'un Vieux Jardin
- D'un Jardin Clair
- Cortège
Performers:
- Alexandra Dariescu, piano
Amanda Maier-Röntgen: Six Pieces for Violin and Piano
Amanda Maier-Röntgen (1853–1894): From Six Pieces for Violin and Piano (c. 1879)
- Allegro molto. Leidenschaftlich
- Lento
- Allegro, ma non troppo. Frisch, schwedisch
Performers:
- Johan Dalene, violin
- Gunnar Flagstad, piano
George Gershwin: From Porgy and Bess
George Gershwin (1898–1937): From Porgy and Bess (arr. Heifetz)
- Summertime
- A Woman Is a Sometime Thing
- Bess, You Is My Woman Now
- It Ain't Necessarily So
America's most celebrated contribution to the opera canon. The premiere took place in New York on October 10, 1935, and Gershwin himself called it America's folk opera. Drawing on African-American folk music, gospel, jazz, and blues, the entire opera and individual pieces like Summertime have enjoyed a long life on and off the opera stage.
Performers:
- Arabella Steinbacher, violin
- Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
Artists
Roderick Williams
Roderick Williams
Baritone
Arabella Steinbacher
Arabella Steinbacher
Violin
Johan Dalene
Johan Dalene
Violin
Gunnar Flagstad
Gunnar Flagstad
Piano
Isata Kanneh‑Mason
Isata Kanneh‑Mason
Piano
Trio Leikínn
Trio Leikínn
Trio
Alexandra Dariescu
Alexandra Dariescu
Piano