La Mer and Brahms’ Violin Concerto

Michael Stern, conductor
Midori, violin

Anna Clyne  This Midnight Hour
Claude Debussy  La Mer
Johannes Brahms  Violin Concerto

This concert begins with hidden stories. While Anna Clyne based “This Midnight Hour” on two very different poems, by Juan Ramón Jiménez and Charles Baudelaire, she explicitly avoided depicting any specific narrative. She wrote, “my intention is that it will evoke a visual journey for the listener.”

The visual imagery in Debussy’s La Mer is astonishing. Debussy portrays subtle shifts on the water, the play of the waves, the swells of the ocean so vividly it makes one taste the salt and feel the spray. This music was modern when it was written, and it remains modern today.

Midori is a great artist, a supreme violinist, a tireless educator and activist for music, and a generous colleague. Welcoming her back to play the magnificent Brahms’s violin concerto, symphonic in its scope and soaring in its reach, is a reason to celebrate.

UPDATED VACCINE AND MASKING REQUIREMENTS (As of 1/13/2022): The final shot in your vaccine program must have been at least 14 days before your concert date. Boosters are highly recommended but not required at this time.Mask wearing is required when entering the Kauffman Center and in the lobby. Mask wearing is highly recommended while inside Helzberg Hall.You will have people sitting behind you, in front of you, and next to you. For complete COVID safety requirements, click here.