Pianist and composer Michael Stephen Brown will present the world premiere of his own composition “The Lotos-Eaters” for flute, cello, piano and percussion at the 41st season of the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival. The concert will take place on Thursday, August 1, at 6 p.m. at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church.
This piece is commissioned by the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival. Besides the world premiere work, Brown will also perform Mozart’s Piano Quartet in E-flat major, K. 493. Entitled “Mozart Reflections,” the program will also include Mozart’s Quartet in A major, K. 298 as well as “And Legions Will Rise.”
“I was deeply moved by Tennyson’s poem ‘The Lotos-Eaters,” explains Brown in the program notes for the piece. “It vividly captures mariners’ yearning for a life of peace, rest and even death. They arrive in a land where people do nothing but eat the lotus flower, causing them to lose all desire to return home and resign themselves to a life without struggle.
“When reading this poem, I was struck by the musical nature of the language and inspired to compose a piece for flute, cello, piano and percussion. Writing for percussion is like being a kid in a candy store for me — so many possibilities. I spent time experimenting with shakers and striking random household items around my New York City apartment to capture the essence of ‘The Lotos-Eaters.’”
Brown adds that each of the five movements of his composition is inspired by different evocative lines from the poem — “Courage!” he said, and pointed toward the land” (flute, cello, piano, percussion); “Time driveth onward fast” (piano, percussion); “Music that brings sweet sleep down from the blissful skies” (flute, cello, vibraphone); “They find a music centred in a doleful song streaming up” (cello, Ppano, percussion); “O, rest ye, brother mariners, we will not wander more” (flute, cello, piano, percussion).
As a frequent performer of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Brown, whose artistry is shaped by his creative voice as a pianist and composer, was featured by the Society last season with a solo recital at Alice Tully Hall.
A second composition by Michael Stephen Brown — “Argument” from “Relationship for Clarinet and Violin” — will be performed during the festival’s annual benefit at the Atlantic Golf Club on Saturday, July 27, at 6:30 p.m.
Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church is at 2429 Montauk Highway, Bridgehampton. Tickets for Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival concerts at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church are $75/$50 ($10 students). Prices vary at other venues. For tickets, visit bcme.org or call 631-537-6368.
Staff Writer on Jul 22, 2024