Catalogue

Program Note:

Venus is an exploration of the musical possibilities embedded in the first two measures of Intermezzo No. 6, Op. 118. It is also a reflection on the passage of time.

During the fall of the Roman Empire, civilians buried their most treasured statues in an effort to preserve them. It is believed that these statues that we now know as white, majestic, marble structures were once coated in color. However, in the effort to salvage them, they lost part of their identity. During this past year of civil unrest and confrontation of our identities, I have been thinking a lot about these statues, specifically Venus de Milo. I have been thinking about what that statue represented to the people in the 16th century and what it means to people now. I have been thinking about what the music of Brahms meant and sounded like to the people of the 19th century and how we might hear it today. Is there some way to preserve the beauty of the past while also reconciling with it?