Seattle Chamber Orchestra: Death & the Maiden
$15-$150 sliding scale
- Lorenzo Marasso, conductor
TBA — Selected works (world premiere of 2025 SCO Contemporary Music Commission)
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky — Serenade for Strings in C major, Op. 48
The season's finale presents works for large string orchestra, the "Death and the Maiden" by Franz Schubert in the arrangement by Gustav Mahler, the Serenade for Strings by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, as well as the world premiere of 2025 SCO Contemporary Music Commission.
The String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810, known as "Death and the Maiden," is a piece by Franz Schubert that has been called "one of the pillars of the chamber music repertoire". It was composed in 1824, after the composer suffered from a serious illness and realized that he was dying. It is named for the theme of the second movement, which Schubert took from a song he wrote in 1817 of the same title. But writes Walter Willson Cobbett, all four movements of the quartet are welded "into a unity under the pressure of a dominating idea—the dance of death." The quartet was first played in 1826 in a private home, and was not published until 1831, three years after Schubert's death.
Schubert's "Death and the Maiden" string quartet, heard here in Mahler's arrangement for string orchestra, was passed over in Schubert's lifetime, the quartet has become a staple of the quartet repertoire. The original Quartet was written soon after Schubert had suffered from a significant period of illness, including syphilis, and some have speculated that it is the composer's testament to his own death. The piece gains its title from the second movement, which is a set of five variations based on the melody of one of Schubert's most poignant songs, Death and the Maiden, in which a girl struggles against the terror of impending death, that "grisly man of bone," who casts himself as a welcome friend.
Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings in C major, Op. 48, was composed in 1880. It was first performed October 30, 1881, in St. Petersburg at a Russian Musical Society concert conducted by Eduard Nápravník.
Tchaikovsky's timeless Serenade in C major highlights two of his most celebrated compositional qualities: his talent for creating graceful, appealing melodies and his admiration for Mozart. He composed the Serenade around the age of 40, by which time he had already established his reputation with his ballet scores. Commissioned works, particularly for the stage, often required precise adherence to specifications and extensive revisions as demanded by choreographers. However, when left to his own devices, Tchaikovsky could fully embrace his affinity for Classical elegance. In Mozart's era, a serenade could be anything the composer desired—pure entertainment in a suite of movements with varying tempos, often featuring danceable rhythms. Tchaikovsky follows this tradition, beginning with a long, stately introduction in formal sonata form, featuring a rich chorale that transitions into a challenging section for the cellos.
While every part of the Serenade is deservedly popular, the most famous is the beautiful waltz that makes up the second of its four movements. Unlike Mozart's dance movements, which were more likely to be minuets (as the waltz did not exist in the 18th Century), Tchaikovsky's waltz has inspired countless ballets, most notably George Balanchine's Serenade. Its apparent simplicity hides intricate complexities, with lyrical passages leading into the dark, rich tones of the third movement. This movement is a chorale-like elegy imbued with solemn dignity. The Serenade concludes with a fourth movement that unites all the suite's stylistic elements in a masterful blend of energy, instrumental virtuosity, and formal restraint. No other composition by Tchaikovsky exemplifies stylistic perfection as brilliantly as this one.
Join us at 7:15pm for a pre-concert talk. Concert begins at 8pm. Admission includes the pre-concert talk, the performance, accompanied by drinks and appetizers.
A Note Regarding Parking: You can park in the Plymouth Church's own parking lot, accessible at 515 University St, Seattle, WA 98101.
About Seattle Chamber Orchestra
Founded in 2021, Seattle Chamber Orchestra seeks to bring music lovers tantalizing combinations of the traditional and modern, performed by world-class professional musicians. Brought to life through thoughtful programming that educates as much as it inspires, SCO seeks to reinvigorate live classical music, which has suffered most of all during the pandemic, by providing opportunities musicians and audiences to explore new music and challenge established boundaries.
https://www.seattlechamberorchestra.org/About Lorenzo Marasso, conductor
Lorenzo Marasso is an impassioned and sympathetic conductor, concert pianist, chamber musician, educator and radio host. Dubbed the "king of repertoire," Lorenzo's creative programming reveals lesser known masterpieces and rarely performed arrangements. Lorenzo's performances have been broadcast in numerous media outlets, including Seattle's 98.1 Classical King FM and NPR. In 2021 Lorenzo founded the Seattle Chamber Orchestra and is serving now as the ensemble's music director. In the same year he also started hosting a weekly radio program called Dress Rehearsal on 107.3FM KBFG Seattle. Equally inspired by contemporary music, Lorenzo has commissioned and performed world premieres of new works by several international composers who have written and dedicated pieces to him. In July 2020 he completed the Invention Project, a commission of new pieces for piano inspired by J.S. Bach's Inventions and Sinfonias. Further commissions included works composed by Michael Finnissy, Edward Cowie and Bernhard Lang.
https://www.lorenzomarasso.com