Circles
Circles brings together composers throughout history who were each other’s friends, enemies, lovers, colleagues, mentors, and inspiration.
First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn
119 Pierrepont St. Brooklyn, NY 11201
Circles I: Clara, Robert, and Johannes
Friday, October 6, 2023 7:30PM
Circles opens with a portrait of one of Music’s most famous love triangles- three composers whose lives were entwined in marriage, friendship, and loss.
Circles II: The Wagnerians
Friday, November 3, 2023 7:30PM
Richard Wagner was the center of the 19th-century musical universe This program pairs his only song cycle with works by the composers he deeply influenced.
Circles III: The Second Viennese School
Friday, December 1, 2023 7:30PM
Arnold Schoenberg and his closest students changed the course of music history. They also had a complex relationship filled with admiration, jealousy,and betrayal.
Circles IV: Les Six
Friday, January 5, 2024 7:30PM
Paris, 1920: Jean Cocteau brings six young composers together to take on the establishment and bring French music into the Modern Era.
Circles VI: The February House
Friday, March 1, 2024 7:30PM
During World War II a brownstone in Brooklyn Heights was converted into an artist commune that housed Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears, and W.H Auden. The mastermind behind the project was George Davis, close friend of Kurt Weill and second husband to Lotte Lenya.
Circles V: The Minnesota Connection
Friday, February 2, 2024 7:30PM
Minnesota became an unofficial capital for American Song thanks to the pioneering work of Dominick Argento. This program pairs one of his most ambitious works with three composers who share a connection to both Minnesota and BASS.