Espressivo: Stringing You Along

Conducted by Michel Singher and featuring the leading professional instrumentalists in Santa Cruz at its core, Espressivo -- a small, intense orchestra -- presents select masterpieces of classical music composed for a baker's dozen or so of players.

The three works on this afternoon's program have commonalities. Each was composed on demand: Bach’s for a ducal patron; Elgar’s to celebrate the newly formed London Symphony Orchestra, and specifically to emulate a Brandenburg concerto that his publisher and he had experienced together; and Bartók’s to fulfill a commission from a rich Swiss conductor. Beyond the similarities in their geneses, the three works are each a concerto grosso, in which a small contingent of players is profiled against the ensemble as a whole. The form was prevalent in Bach’s day, but its occasional use since has been a self-conscious reverting to that historical model. See the program notes and recommended listening at the links below.

Program Notes: http://espressorch.org/pdf/prog_notes_20171015.pdf

Recommended Listening: http://espressorch.org/pdf/recommended_listening_20171015.pdf