Homages

Salon 21 opens the sixth season with an ode to the creative muses. Homages is an exploration of artistic inspiration. What were the forces that made such composers truly great? For J.S. Bach, this was his older brothers who taught him music, and for whom the Capriccio on the Departure of a Beloved Brother was written. Clara Schumann’s Sonata in G minor was dedicated to her beloved husband, Robert. Beethoven’s penultimate and powerful Sonata in A-flat Major, op. 110 offers a musical memoir of his life bringing forth a tale of despair and triumph. Artistic influences continue to present themselves in the 20th century with Olivier Messiaen’s Preludes in imitation of his idol Claude Debussy, and later, Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu’s Rain Tree Sketch II, memorializing Messiaen. The genesis and continuation of reverence is a beautiful tradition that will live on forever.