A beguiling concert, “A Celebration of Liszt and his Era,” was performed October 22 and 23 by the Claremont Concert Orchestra of the Joint Music Program, which serves the Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer, and Scripps Colleges. The concert was presented in Garrison Theater, Scripps College Performing Arts Center, and conducted by Scripps Professor David Cubek, the director of the Claremont Concert Orchestra. The event celebrated the 200th birthday anniversary of Franz (b. October 22, 1811) and featured music from Liszt and his 19th-century contemporaries Georges Bizet and Edvard Grieg.
Many in the Scripps community shone as they shared their artistic contributions to the weekend’s success. After a colorful rendition of excerpts from Bizet’s Carmen Suites, Professor of Music Hao Huang flawlessly executed Liszt’s Fantasy on Hungarian Folk Themes (Fantasie über ungarische Volksmelodien) for piano and orchestra. The orchestra, which involves a large number of Scripps students, including concertmistress Sarah Chung (’15), accompanied the Fantasy with vehemence. The second half of the concert featured selections from Grieg’s imaginative music composed for Henrik Ibsen’s play Peer Gynt.
Liszt is remembered not only as a dazzling piano virtuoso but also as a lasting representative of early musical nationalism and a highly innovative composer. He was a proponent of Hungarian cultural and political identity separate from Austro-German traditions and a pioneer of new compositional forms such as the symphonic poem.
The Joint Music Program has a number of holiday concerts planned. The Claremont Concert Choir and the Chamber Choir will perform on December 2 and 9. In addition, the Claremont Concert Orchestra will return to the Garrison stage on December 10 and 11. All concerts are free and open to the public.