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He was one of the great film composers. But before that, he was the toast of Vienna. On Sunday afternoon, the Concordia Chamber Players will offer an opportunity to discover why. Erich Wolfgang Korngold was born in Brünn, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in 1897. He was one of the most amazing composer prodigies who ever lived. He produced works of remarkable maturity from a very early age. The earliest masterpiece to be composed by a former prodigy is generally held to be Mendelssohn’s Octet for Strings. Mendelssohn was 16 at the time. By 15, Korngold had already written his first large-scale symphonic works, including a Sinfonietta (really a 45-minute symphony in all but name), which was given its premiere by the Vienna Philharmonic under the direction of Felix Weingartner. Korngold rubbed shoulders, metaphorically, with figures like Gustav Mahler, who declared him a genius, and Richard Strauss, whose first reaction to the boy’s talent was one of “awe and fear.” Puccini praised Korngold’s one-act opera “Violanta,” composed at the age of 16. By the time of his first full-length opera, “Die tote Stadt” (The Dead City) in 1920, the 23 year-old Korngold was the great hope of German-language opera.

Guests at “From Buenos Aires with Love,” were treated to a magical evening at Cradle Valley Farm of live tango inspired music as well as a sumptuous meal featuring food and wines of the region. Special thanks to the wonderful musicians, Nick Danielson, Emilio Solla, J.P. Jofre, and Pablo Aslan as well as the volunteers who cooked and helped to make the evening one we won’t soon forget!   Pablo Aslan’s award winning Quartet with J.P. Jofre on bandoneon, playing jazz tango at  the Annual fundraiser for Concordia Chamber Players, “From Buenos Aires with Love.”   A few more images from the night:  

At the first subscription concert of the year on November 10th, we were truly honored when Roy Chaliff presented a beautiful hand-crafted music stand to Michelle Djokic. He said it was his way of thanking her for these concerts we bring to New Hope. Many thanks to all who came out to support us! Wishing you peace and harmony with the promise of future gatherings in the celebration of music and community.  

Rebecca Clarke’s music will open Sunday’s concert by Concordia Chamber Players, which will take place at Trinity Episcopal Church in Solebury, outside New Hope, Pa. The concert will begin at 3 p.m. Clarke originally studied violin, but switched to viola at the suggestion of her teacher, Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. She enjoyed respectable successful as performer and even as composer. Her Viola Sonata tied for first place with a work of Ernest Bloch in a competition held by patron of the arts Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge. That was in 1919. Reflective of the attitudes of the time, there were some who found it hard to believe that the piece could have been written by a woman. It is one of the most assured viola sonatas in the repertoire. However, because her music met so much resistance, and since Clarke herself was reticent about her worth, many of her pieces remain unpublished. Members of Concordia will perform one of her loveliest creations, the “Prelude, Allegro and Pastorale” for viola and clarinet of 1941. Artistic director Michelle Djokic, who is a cellist, remarks that if she could play any other instrument, it would be the clarinet. She speaks with particularly high praise of

Concordia Chamber Players Artistic Director, Michelle Djokic predicts, “This could possibly be our finest Concordia season ever.” In addition to the concert series the group will introduce a new offering called “Notable Encounter I” on Oct. 6. The “Notable Encounter” includes a stimulating and revealing discussion of Zoltan Kodaly’s Duo for violin and cello followed by a performance of the work in the Nakashima Woodworking Studio in the woodlands of New Hope. Michelle Djokic and Toby Appel will perform in the first “Notable Encounter” to be staged by the Concordia Chamber Players. The event is Oct. 6 at the Nakashima Woodworking Studio. Toby Appel, violinist, will lead the exploration of the piece and perform with Michelle Djokic, cellist and Concordia Artistic Director. A wine and cheese reception following the performance will allow for further discussion with the musicians. Concordia’s subscription series begins Nov. 10, with three concerts at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Solebury. The first concert will introduce one of the brightest young talents of the clarinet, Jose- Franch Ballester, in the performance of the Duo for Clarinet and viola by Rebecca Clarke, Mozart’s Kegelstatt Trio and Dohnanyi’s Sextet in C major. On Feb. 23, hearts will be warmed

Last month, the Concordia Chamber Players had a unique concert offering. Bracketed by the familiar comforts of Brahms and Mozart was something quite novel for classical chamber music— a piece written for Theremin. The Theremin is an electric instrument played without any physical contact but by interfering with the frequencies emitting from two antennae. While the novelty of the Theremin has made it the darling of eclectic hipster bands and Sci Fi soundtracks—the Theremin had originally been created with the intention of being incorporated into the classical setting. The instrument is as visually peculiar as its sound. Its form is evocatively simple with one metal antenna poking up vertically from the side of a small box hiding the electronic guts. A second antenna juts horizontally from the other side in an asymmetric loop. The performer plays the Theremin with hands poised along invisible registers as though taking a solemn oath. One hand moves delicately through the air near the vertical rod, adjusting the pitch of the sound, while the hand hovers over the loop to control volume. The musician must keep his body rigid so as not to throw off the calibration of his hands, giving he or she a

Since the inauguration of The Princeton Festival five years ago, the Concordia Chamber Players has been an integral part of the musical activities. Currently based locally across the river at Trinity Church, in Solebury, Pa., the Players do not have far to travel for the festival, and many Princeton chamber music aficionados may be wondering why they do not hear more of this ensemble during the year. The Concordia Chamber Players no doubt increased their fan base after their Sunday concert at Miller Chapel as part of The Princeton Festival’s second week. Programming a very contemporary and technically difficult concert, the Players used the intimate space of Miller Chapel to show the audience close-up how challenging repertoire can bring an ensemble together. Artistic director Michelle Djokic (who also plays cello in the ensemble) bracketed a light-hearted Milhaud piece with two works of extreme intensity. Estonian composer Arvo Pärt spent a portion of his career under Soviet musical repression, developing a style rooted in ancient chant and mysticism. His early music was banned for its 12-tone technique, but his late 1970s Fratres, scored for cello and piano, retains a mathematical structure in its medieval atmosphere. The one-movement work begins and ends