roots & return

ROOTS AND RETURN traces the web of connections between recent works and the classic pieces that inspired them. Arnold Schoenberg’s Chamber Symphonyheralds the end of the romantic orchestra and provides an epic endorsement of the practical means that would come to define 20th century music. Memoriale is a miniature concerto for flute written at the apex of Pierre Boulez’s mature musical style. It contains fragments of an iterative compositional process that Boulez has been developing over several decades. Dai Fujikura’s returning is a brief work for solo piano, where individual lines weave together in an elegant matrix. returning is a symbolic fanfare to reawaken ICE’s long-standing relationship with Mr. Fujikura’s music. Fujikura’s second piece on the program, ICE, written for the eponymous ensemble, is a symphony of textures, arranged in intricate counterpoint reminiscent of his mentor Pierre Boulez. American icon John Adams’ Son of Chamber Symphony is a kinetic work for chamber orchestra that recalls the lighthearted energy of his own Chamber Symphony, as well as the presence of Schoenberg’s early 20th century masterpiece.