Lost Treasures: Digital Concert Premiere
The Missouri Chamber Music Festival celebrates its 10th Anniversary and reimagines its concert hall with Lost Treasures, a digitally streamed concert available to watch from the comfort of your home. A musical exploration of inspiration, lost cultural heritage, synthesis, and resilience, this concert embraces a bright future where the best parts of us are never truly lost, though circumstances may dictate change.
MOCM Festival artists share performances from Boston and St. Louis of evocative works by Steven Stucky and James Lee, III. We look back to our inaugural Festival season with a reprise of the first piece performed in 2011, Martinu’s Three Madrigals. Plus, we celebrate our future with the world premiere of MOCM’s 10th Anniversary commissioned work by composer Peter Askim!
If you missed our Digital Concert Premiere of Lost Treasures on November 29 or wish to view the concert again, please join us for Lost Treasures: On Demand Concert from Dec 24-Jan 31 with a $50 or greater donation.
Performers
Catherine French, Hannah Ji, Angie Smart, violin
Mary Ferrillo, Chris Tantillo, viola
Elizabeth Chung, cello
Scott Andrews, clarinet
Nina Ferrigno, piano
Program
Partita-Pastorale, after J.S.B. for Clarinet, 2 Violins, Viola, Cello and Piano // Stucky
Lost Treasures from Souls of Alkebulan, for Piano // Lee, III
Three Madrigals for Violin and Viola // Martinu
Overture on Hebrew Themes for Clarinet, String Quartet and Piano // Prokofieff
Swallowing Fire, for Violin, Cello, Clarinet, and Piano // Askim
Wine Pairings for the Concert
By Aaron Sherman, sommelier
If you’re anything like me, you’ve missed going to concerts so much over the last few months that you can practically taste it. That very feeling sparked the idea to create wine pairings with this concert as a way to deepen the experience of these amazing works. I have put together a selection of three wines for you to enjoy during the performance. You can purchase them individually, or buy the set of three. These wines were specifically chosen to highlight attributes of the music you’ll hear, to bring the musical concepts into the physical world, a different way to explore the concert in these very different times. While you listen and taste, the ideas behind the pieces, the themes, the writing, all become tangibly physical in the glass and you get the experience of listening and tasting actively, in real time. The wines also happen to be amazingly delicious.
For the first half of the concert, I’ve paired Steven Stucky’s hauntingly beautiful Partita Pastorale, after J.S.B with a brilliant, white wine from Avennia Winery in Washington State. Stucky’s writing has a transparency, a purity in how Bach’s original work has been interwoven into a modern setting. The techniques and sounds maybe newer than what Bach wrote, but you can hear through each layer and find the original structure underneath. In a similar way, the Avennia “Oliane” Sauvignon Blanc is reminiscent of the classic white wines you might find in Bordeaux or Pouilly-Fume, but it spends a little time in barrel and concrete “eggs” to add depth and complexity, while maintaining the crystalline purity of the original form beneath. It hearkens back to the classic style, but again, new textures have been woven over the top to give a more generous expression.
The evening’s theme is “Lost Treasures,” so I chose a red wine for the second half that fits the bill. Though Quinta de Saes “Reserva Estagio Prolongado” was never really “lost,” the extended aging makes it indeed a buried treasure, a field blend left deep in the caves for “prolonged aging in barrel.” The scents of cherries, roses, and black pepper mingle with the flavors of jewel-toned berries and silken vanilla, where they will tickle your fancy and inspire your imagination. The flavors hint towards the exotic, tracing similarities to the Prokofiev Overture on Hebrew Themes.
After the concert, join the musicians and board for a virtual “toast” to celebrate the performance and have a chance to “clink glasses” with other concert-goers. In honor of Peter Askim’s new piece “Swallowing Fire,” pop the cork on a bottle of Emanuele Scammacca del Murgo “Brut Rose.” This is an amazing sparkling wine made in Sicily, on the slopes of Mount Etna. You can stand in the vineyards where these grapes are grown and literally see the daily eruptions of the active volcano, and you can taste the intensity of that volcanic soil in the glass. You can’t get much closer to swallowing fire than that!
MOCM Lost Treasures Wine Pairings
Avennia “Oliane” Sauvignon Blanc, Yakima Valley (Washington State) $21.99
Quinta de Saes “Reserva Estagio Prolongado” Tinto, Dao (Portugal) $31.99
Murgo “Brut Rose” Sparkling Nerello Mascalese, Sicily (Italy) $26.99
To purchase these wines, please call The Wine Merchant at 314.863.6282. You can order any of the wines individually or order them all. Orders may be placed through November 29. The store does a great job maintaining COVID curbside protocols, so when you arrive to pick up your wines, they will bring your selections out to your car. The Wine Merchant, 7817 Forsyth Blvd, Clayton, MO 63105.
Wine Pairings for the Concert
By Aaron Sherman, sommelier
If you’re anything like me, you’ve missed going to concerts so much over the last few months that you can practically taste it. That very feeling sparked the idea to create wine pairings with this concert as a way to deepen the experience of these amazing works. I have put together a selection of three wines for you to enjoy during the performance. You can purchase them individually, or buy the set of three. These wines were specifically chosen to highlight attributes of the music you’ll hear, to bring the musical concepts into the physical world, a different way to explore the concert in these very different times. While you listen and taste, the ideas behind the pieces, the themes, the writing, all become tangibly physical in the glass and you get the experience of listening and tasting actively, in real time. The wines also happen to be amazingly delicious.
For the first half of the concert, I’ve paired Steven Stucky’s hauntingly beautiful Partita Pastorale, after J.S.B with a brilliant, white wine from Avennia Winery in Washington State. Stucky’s writing has a transparency, a purity in how Bach’s original work has been interwoven into a modern setting. The techniques and sounds maybe newer than what Bach wrote, but you can hear through each layer and find the original structure underneath. In a similar way, the Avennia “Oliane” Sauvignon Blanc is reminiscent of the classic white wines you might find in Bordeaux or Pouilly-Fume, but it spends a little time in barrel and concrete “eggs” to add depth and complexity, while maintaining the crystalline purity of the original form beneath. It hearkens back to the classic style, but again, new textures have been woven over the top to give a more generous expression.
The evening’s theme is “Lost Treasures,” so I chose a red wine for the second half that fits the bill. Though Quinta de Saes “Reserva Estagio Prolongado” was never really “lost,” the extended aging makes it indeed a buried treasure, a field blend left deep in the caves for “prolonged aging in barrel.” The scents of cherries, roses, and black pepper mingle with the flavors of jewel-toned berries and silken vanilla, where they will tickle your fancy and inspire your imagination. The flavors hint towards the exotic, tracing similarities to the Prokofiev Overture on Hebrew Themes.
After the concert, join the musicians and board for a virtual “toast” to celebrate the performance and have a chance to “clink glasses” with other concert-goers. In honor of Peter Askim’s new piece “Swallowing Fire,” pop the cork on a bottle of Emanuele Scammacca del Murgo “Brut Rose.” This is an amazing sparkling wine made in Sicily, on the slopes of Mount Etna. You can stand in the vineyards where these grapes are grown and literally see the daily eruptions of the active volcano, and you can taste the intensity of that volcanic soil in the glass. You can’t get much closer to swallowing fire than that!
MOCM Lost Treasures Wine Pairings
Avennia “Oliane” Sauvignon Blanc, Yakima Valley (Washington State) $21.99
Quinta de Saes “Reserva Estagio Prolongado” Tinto, Dao (Portugal) $31.99
Murgo “Brut Rose” Sparkling Nerello Mascalese, Sicily (Italy) $26.99
To purchase these wines, please call The Wine Merchant at 314.863.6282. You can order any of the wines individually or order them all. Orders may be placed through November 29. The store does a great job maintaining COVID curbside protocols, so when you arrive to pick up your wines, they will bring your selections out to your car. The Wine Merchant, 7817 Forsyth Blvd, Clayton, MO 63105.