“Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, Summer an oil painting, and Autumn a mosaic of them all.” – Stanley Horowitz
Fall hasn’t always been my favorite season of the year. Growing up in San Francisco, October didn’t mean much more to me than pumpkin spice, too much candy, a temperature drop from 65 to 62, and a prelude to the coming winter festivities. But ever since moving to Virginia in 2014, Autumn has become a wonderful, magical experience unto itself that I look forward to all year. As I sit here writing this I am distracted by the grove of trees behind my house, where small blots of yellow are forming amidst the summer green, and wisps of leaves begin to blow gently to the ground in a gust of wind under the clear blue sky. There is nothing quite like beholding the great outdoors in autumn to nourish the soul and quiet an over-active mind.
Us musicians often use the term ‘color’ to describe the complex array of sound timbres our instruments can produce. Different colors of sound can be created not only by playing louder or softer, but by changing the speed and weight of the bow on the string, changing where the bow contacts the string, the angle of the fingers on the fingerboard, or the nuanced way the finger contacts the keys on a piano, among other infinite variables. Autumn has always seemed like the most apt season to meld these seemingly infinite musical colors with the visual. This October at Garth Newel we will explore an assortment of pieces, each offering its own palette of sound colors. Some highlights for me include:
- Pēteris Vasks’ Piano Quartet, an epic journey through melodic and dance worlds that range from the still and inward to the frenzied and dramatic (October 17th)
- Antonin Dvorak’s great masterpiece, the F Minor Piano Trio. This is one of his finest works, and boasts some of the most beautiful and romantic writing in the repertoire, along with quintessentially Dvořákian Czech dance rhythms (October 18th)
- Stravinsky’s Petrushka (piano 4-hands). One of the great ballets from perhaps the world’s greatest ballet composer. Pianist Jeremy Thompson will join GNPQ’s Jeannette Fang (October 24th)
- Rebecca Clarke’s viola sonata, one of the great works in the viola repertoire, captivates with its soaring melodies and rich sonorities (October 25th)
- Faure’s Piano Quartet in G Minor. Every note in this wonderful piece seems like the stroke of a paintbrush on the canvas of an impressionist painting (October 25th)
Whether you’re a longtime friend or joining us for the first time, we can’t wait to share this inspiring fall festival with you.
Make your plans today!
Week 1 Package Promo (concerts and meals)
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