Ever since early humans began to gather, they attempted to understand the inexplicable universe by telling tales. While composers have frequently enjoyed exploring the macabre and Gothic horror, classical repertory is equally graced with gentler stories, some of which end happily ever after.
In the perfect follow-up to Halloween, speaker and concert pianist Rachel Franklin revisits her seasonal tour through the most mysterious corners of classical music as well as illustrates how fantasy and folklore have inspired some of history’s greatest composers.
British-born Franklin has been a featured speaker for organizations including the Library of Congress and NPR, exploring intersections among classical and jazz music, film scores, and the fine arts.
November 3 Six of the Scariest
Fresh from Halloween, as the days draw darker and strange spirits linger, Liszt’s Totentanz, Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre, Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain, and other bone-chillers set the tone for an atmosphere of sorcery and witchcraft.
November 10 Grimm, Perrault, and Andersen: Masters of Enchantment
The magical tales told by Charles Perrault, Hans Christian Andersen, and the Brothers Grimm have provided the inspiration for many classical masterpieces. Franklin compares the varied approaches taken in such beloved works as Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty ballet, very different versions of the Cinderella story by Rossini and Prokofiev, Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, The Mermaid by Zemlinsky, and The Fairy’s Kiss by Stravinsky.
November 17 Faeries, Trolls, and Mystical Maidens
The enchanted creatures of myth never cease to fascinate. Purcell, Mendelssohn, Grieg, Debussy, and Sibelius wrote many works that draw from mythological roots, frequently via the great literature of Shakespeare, Ibsen and others. Purcell’s The Fairy-Queen, Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Peer Gynt by Grieg, and Pohjola’s Daughter by Sibelius are all magnificent examples of the genre.
November 24 Operatic Occult
Experience an intimately eerie encounter with some of the favorite ghouls and ghosts of the operatic underworld. Selections include excerpts from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, and other works.
4 sessions
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