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PHOTO CAPTION: Composer Dana Kaufman with Jackson Pollock’s “Greyed Rainbow,” at the Art Institute of Chicago.<\/em><\/p>\n
Dana Kaufman\u2019s \u201cGreyed Rainbow\u201d was commissioned by the Lowell Chamber Orchestra and written in 2021. When asked about her inspiration for the work, Kaufman says \u201cI considered the concept of ‘Antique Modernity\u2019 in the context of the past two years of the COVID pandemic: what do we now consider ‘antique,\u2019 and what do we now consider ‘modern?\u2019 What is old, and what is new? I thought of a communal melancholy, a sense of optimism, and a continued surrealness in our daily lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
An art connoisseur, Kaufman continues: \u201cOn a visit in 2021 to the Art Institute of Chicago (in my hometown), I saw what I thought to be a fitting exploration of this \u2018old and new\u2019 reflected in Jackson Pollock\u2019s Greyed Rainbow. Jackson Pollock\u2019s Abstract Expressionist work, which bridges traditional and contemporary 20th-century aesthetics in visual art, has always resonated with me. One of the painting\u2019s elements that I find particularly striking is its use of palettes that may initially appear to conflict with one another. Approximately two thirds of the painting is starkly monochromatic, while the bottom third of the painting incorporates hints of several colors. Pollock\u2019s work connects bleakness and solace.\u201d<\/p>\n
The program starts with Francis Poulenc\u2019s \u201cSuite Fran\u00e7aise d\u2019apr\u00e8s Claude Gervaise,\u201d a collection of Renaissance tunes. In 1935, Poulenc arranged (with his personal touch) a few dances in Claude Gervaise\u2019s \u201cLivre de Danceries\u201d for an unusual combination of winds, brass and percussion instruments – \u201cunusual\u201d for our times, but probably common during Gervaise\u2019s time.<\/p>\n
The concert will continue with a concerto for two instruments seldom seen together: recorder, and transverse flute. Written by Georg Philip Telemann, this is the only concerto to make use of this combination, conceived at a time when the orchestras of the time were growing, and the sweet sound of the recorder was slowly being replaced by the traverso – the Baroque equivalent of the modern flute.<\/p>\n
The end of the program is a suite from the opera \u201cCastor et Pollux,\u201d by Jean-Philippe Rameau, which tells the fantastic origins of the constellation Gemini. The music, which at the time was designed to be arranged for whatever instruments were available at a given ensemble, finds a modern design in LCO\u2019s brand new orchestration. The suite will be accompanied with a slideshow that will tell the story of the opera.<\/p>\n
The concert is free to attend, as always. Attendees will be able to meet composer Dana Kaufman. For more information, please visit https:\/\/lowellchamberorchestra.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n