Discover the latent physicality in great concert music, compositions never intended for dance that were brought to visual life in the imaginative concepts of celebrated modern choreographers. Drawing on beloved music by Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart, and Beethoven, and some of the greatest music from the Romantic era and beyond, classical music and opera expert Saul Lilienstein examines how these masterworks fused with the talents of choreographers including George Balanchine, Rudolf Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Twyla Tharp, as well as with some of the world’s renowned dancers and ensembles. Examine how choreographers and their dancers found a way to express what the music meant to them emotionally and how it was translated into another dimension—bodily movement. Lilienstein guides participants in recognizing and evaluating this innovative approach to the music they already love, expanding the potential to understand the compositions more deeply with a new level of awareness. Sessions are highlighted by recordings and clips of extraordinary music and dance performances.
May 6 In the Time of Bach and Handel
Vivaldi’s Fours Seasons with the Ballet National de Marseille; Vivaldi and Bach transcriptions with George Balanchine; Bach’s Air for the G String with the Toronto Ballet; Bach’s Cello Suite #1 with String (guitar) and dancer Alessandra Ferri. Handel’s Sarabande with the Hong Kong Ballet; Handel’s Water Music Suite with traditional hornpipe; Gluck’s Orpheus and Euridice with Pina Bausch; and more.
May 13 The Great Classicists: Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven
Haydn’s The Creation with the Rambert Dance Company; Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23, with the Paris Opera Ballet; Mozart’s Mass in C Minor with the Leipzig Ballet; Beethoven’s Piano Sonata “Pathétique” with the Royal Ballet; Beethoven’s 7th Symphony finale with Fred Astaire; Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Tokyo Ballet; and others.
May 20 The Romantic Century
Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Suzanne Farrell; Chopin's Les Sylphides with American Ballet Theater; Berlioz’s Romeo and Juliet with Maurice Bejart; Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet with the Ballet de Monte-Carlo; Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade with the Ballet de Monte Carlo and others.
May 27 Fin-de-siecle: Mahler, Debussy, and Ravel
Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with the Hamburg Ballet; Mahler’s Adagietto from Symphony #5 with the Stuttgart Ballet; Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun with Rudolf Nureyev; Debussy’s Claire de Lune with the Dutch National Ballet; Ravel’s Piano Concerto with Jerome Robbins; Ravel’s Pavane with the Chicago Ballet; Elgar’s Cello Concerto with the Royal Ballet; and others.
June 3 Voices of America
Stravinsky’s Circus Polka: For a Young Elephant with George Balanchine and the Ringling Brothers Circus; spirituals “Wade in the Water” and “Rock’a My Soul” with Alvin Ailey; Scott Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag with Twyla Tharp; Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasilieros No. 5 with Barbara Hannigan; Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings with Sadler’s Wells Ballet; a George Gershwin medley with Mikhail Baryshnikov; a Frank Sinatra medley with Twyla Tharp; Louis Armstrong’s “West End Blues” with Pina Bausch; and others.
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