Homage: Interpretations and
Translations
November 9
12:00pm
Primitive, 4th floor
Bingham Eakins Heade Homer/Inness Hoffman Diebenkorn
Concert Program
Six American Painters
John Harbison
Adagio – Allegro vivace Adagio non lento Intermezzo Presto – Adagio non lento
Felix Mendelssohn
String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 13
Homage explores the prior influences that shape the direction of composition and music.
Six American Painters is a musical journey of six painters in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It sonically describes the painting style of each artist, taking us through the halls of the Met with each movement. As is often the case with composers who came before, Mendelssohn was greatly influenced by the work of Beethoven and his string quartets. This influence and reverence for Beethoven is most evident in Mendelssohn’s Op. 13 A minor quartet. Mendelssohn quotes Beethoven’s compositions both directly and indirectly throughout the work.Benin Portrait Heads
The ancient kingdom of Benin lies in the tropical rainforest of West Africa, in present day Nigeria. During its classical age, from the fourteenth through the nineteenth centuries, it produced one of the continents most glorious artistic legacies.
To reflect the splendor of the royal court, the Oba (king) commissioned highly skilled artisans to create rare and beautiful works of art in materials such as bronze, ivory, and terracotta. One of the most revered art forms produced by benin artisans, were portrait heads dedicated to past Oba's and Oni's(queens). Also known as commemorative heads, these works of art were not meant as literal portraiture but instead were illustrative of the strength, power, and integrity of the royal lineage. Considered classical African art, these types of work are now highly revered among collectors worldwide.