Listen to the archived broadcast as morning host Jeff Spurgeon, Ensemble LPR and clarinetist Vasko Dukovski kick off the 111th season of free concerts in Central Park's Naumburg Bandshell on June 14 with a program of 20th and 21st century works.
Based at the downtown venue Le Poisson Rouge, Ensemble LPR is committed to aesthetic diversity and artistic excellence. It collaborates with distinguished artists from classical and non-classical backgrounds.
The evening begins with Ralph Vaughan Williams's Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, written for a performance at the Three Choirs Festival at Gloucester Cathedral. The work was conceived to be performed in expansive spaces, making the Naumburg Bandshell an appropriate venue. It is followed by Aaron Copland's Concerto for Clarinet, Strings and Harp, featuring Macedonia-born, New York-based Dukovski.
Julia Wolfe's Cruel Sister, based on the narrative of an Old English ballad — listen to the composer talk about her work in the audio below — begins the second half, and the ponderously philosophical Unanswered Question by Charles Ives concludes the performance.
Jeff Spurgeon talks with Julia Wolfe:
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Program:
Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Copland: Concerto for Clarinet, Strings and Harp
Vasko Dukovski, clarinet
Wolfe: Cruel Sister
Ives: The Unanswered Question (revised version)