Parlando Announces its 2023-24 Season
The New Babylon
August 26, 2023 7:30 PM
United Theatre -- Westerly, RI
Dmitri Shostakovich – The New Babylon
On August 26th, 2023 at 7:30 PM the United Theatre in Westerly, RI, Parlando will present a live-music screening of The New Babylon. Parlando’s presentation of The New Babylon ties together the history of the United Theatre, from its birthplace as a movie palace to its future as a multimedia communal space. Harkening back to early cinema’s tradition of live music accompanying silent films, this event would also highlight the importance and history of film being a communal experience.
The event consists of a screening with live orchestral music of the 1929 Soviet film, The New Babylon. The score, written by Dmitri Shostakovich is witty, satirical, and compelling, highlighting the pioneering cinematography and acting techniques of this early work depicting the days of the Paris Commune. Shostakovich’s first job was serving as a live piano accompanist to silent movies, and he was a great admirer of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton -- The New Babylon is his only full-length accompaniment to a silent film.
Before the screening, conductor Ian Niederhoffer will speak briefly about the story and history behind the movie and the Paris Commune and give some context as to what makes this work so special.
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Odysseys
October 4, 2023, 7:30 PM
Merkin Hall at the Kaufman Center – New York, NY
Joey Roukens -- Visions at Sea
Jimmy López Bellido -- Guardian of the Horizon
Ade Williams, Violin
Gabriel Cabezas, Cello
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky -- Souvenir de Florence
Every journey has obstacles and leaves the traveler changed upon returning. How is this journey and transfiguration expressed through music?
Works include Joey Roukens’s sea-shanty-infused Visions at Sea, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s lush Souvenir de Florence, and Jimmy Lopez’s transcendental Guardian of the Horizon, performed by Adé Williams and Gabriel Cabezas, who premiered the work with the Sphinx Virtuosi in 2017.
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Melodrama
December 3, 2023, 3 PM
Merkin Hall at the Kaufman Center – New York, NY
Darius Milhaud -- Le Bœuf sur le toit
Kaija Saariaho -- Graal théatre
Geneva Lewis, Violin
Erich Korngold -- Much Ado About Nothing Suite
What is the relationship between music and the theatre? From folk theatre to Shakespeare to the very conventions of the concert hall, come explore what exactly makes a piece of music theatrical.
Featuring violinist Geneva Lewis performing Graal Théâtre, Kaija Saariaho’s enchanting violin concerto, the concert also includes Darius Milhaud’s Charlie Chaplain-esque Le Bœuf sur le toit, and Erich Korngold’s delightful Much Ado about Nothing Suite.
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Transient Voices
February 25, 2024, 3 PM
Merkin Hall at the Kaufman Center – New York, NY
Aida Shirazi -- Umbra
Dmitri Shostakovich -- Symphony No. 14
Irina Rindzuner, Soprano
Mikhail Svetlov, Bass
How can music grab on to something as it slips away? Join Parlando as it explores how music captures the ephemeral, from the memory of home, to nature, or to life itself.
Works include Aida Shirazi’s mystical Umbra and Dmitri Shostakovich’s deeply evocative Symphony No. 14, featuring Irina Rindzuner and Mikhail Svetlov.
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The Other Mozart Effect
May 1, 2024, 7:30 PM
Merkin Hall at the Kaufman Center – New York, NY
Reynaldo Hahn -- Mozart Overture
Alfred Schnittke -- Moz-Art à la Haydn
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov -- Mozart and Salieri
Joseph Parrish, Bass-Baritone
Daniel McGrew, Tenor
Young composers have been hailed as "the next Mozart" for generations, but how did composers interpret Mozart’s legacy? Join Parlando as it explores Mozart’s impact on classical music, culminating in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Mozart and Salieri, the precursor to the Oscar-winning film Amadeus.
The program includes Reynaldo Hahn’s charming Mozart Overture and Alfred Schnittke’s witty tribute to the 18th century, Moz-Art à la Haydn, before concluding with Rimsky Korsakov’s one-act opera, Mozart and Salieri, featuring Joseph Parrish as Salieri and Daniel McGrew as Mozart.