American Vanguard Festival
“A Landscape of Song” American Vanguard Festival, 2010
Florestan toasts its final year of residency at Dickinson College with a four-day feast of contemporary American songs. Together with composer Libby Larsen and other guest artists, Florestan will explore the myriad styles and influences that shape today’s American song repertoire, and celebrate the collaborations between performers, poets, and composers that drive its evolution. The festival will feature world premieres of five song cycles, four of which were commissioned by Florestan. Each evening concert will include selected songs from Robert
Schumann’s Myrthen lieder, opus 25. Schumann is not only the inspiration behind
Florestan Recital Project’s name and mission, he has also inspired generations of
song composers, including all four of the commissioned composers in this festival.
History of the American Vanguard Festival: The American Vanguard Festival began in 2003 with the Corigliano quartet, Dickinson’s Musical Artists in Residence from 2001-2004. The festival explores contemporary classical music, and features special forums with guest composers discussing their works.
March 4-7, 2010
Rubendall
Recital Hall, Dickinson Campus
Thursday, March 4
Festival Kickoff event, co-sponsored by the Clarke Forum;
reception for the public to follow.
• 7 p.m.: Libby Larsen talk, “The Concert Hall That Fell Asleep and Woke Up as a Car Radio”
• 8 p.m.: Concert: Robert Schumann, selections from Myrthen lieder, Op. 25
• Thea Musgrave world premiere, Poets in Love for tenor, baritone, and four-hand piano (Florestan commission, 2010)
Friday, March 5
7 p.m.—Concert: An Evening with Libby Larsen
• Dominck Argento, selections from Miss Manners on Music
• Libby Larsen, “Slang” for violin, clarinet, and piano
• Libby Larsen, Try Me, Good King: Last Words of the Wives of Henry VIII
• Robert Schumann, selections from Myrthen lieder, Op. 25
• Libby Larsen, world premiere, song cycle for baritone and piano (Florestan commission, 2010)
Saturday, March 6
1:30–4 p.m.—Panel Discussion: “A Landscape of Song”
This discussion with composers, performers, and audience will explore the vital
collaborations between composers and performers that continue to shape the development
of American song, as well as the innovations and challenges in today’s song recitals.
Saturday, March 6
7 p.m.—Concert
• Robert Schumann, selections from Myrthen lieder, Op. 25
• George Crumb, Apparition
• Stephen Paulus, world premiere, song cycle for tenor and piano (Florestan commission, 2010)
• Elliot Carter, Of Challenge and of Love
• Paul Sperry sings NYC, including songs by Tom Cipullo, Christopher Berg, David Sisco
and Daron Hagen.
Sunday, March 7
4 p.m.
• Ned Rorem, “As I Walked Out One Evening” (quartet from Evidence of Things Not Seen)
• John Musto, Recuerdo
• Thomas Pasatieri, The Daughter of Capulet (world premiere performance)
• Robert Schumann, selections from Myrthen lieder, Op. 25
• Daniel Pinkham, selected songs
• Paul Preusser, “Bronx, NY, April 18, 1945” (from Write About the Silence Here) (Florestan commission, 2004)
• Jake Heggie, “Grounded” and “Mother in the Mirror” (two duets from Facing Forward/
Looking Back)
• Robert Pound, world premiere, song cycle for tenor, baritone, and piano (Florestan commission, 2010)