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When the students are away, the arts at the University of Maine won’t miss a beat. Next Sunday, March 5 at 3 p.m., Elizabeth Erskine Patches and Cheryl Tschanz will present an “Encounter Concert” in Minsky Recital Hall featuring “The Book of Hanging Gardens,” a song cycle composed by Arnold Schonberg in 1908.
Patches is an acclaimed mezzo-soprano who has been singing for 40 years. Tschanz is a pianist who debuted with the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra at age 11. Both are music department faculty at Colby College in Waterville.
Art song, unlike folk music, “demands some understanding of the composer’s intentions in order to appreciate it,” according to Patches. That’s where she and longtime colleague Tschanz come in.
An Encounter Concert helps the audience gain a deeper understanding of the work presented. According to Patches, she and Tschanz “will step into the composer’s world to explore some of the ideas that characterize his music.” Patches wrote in a newsletter that in addition to Schonberg’s song cycle, she and Tschanz will perform music by composers who influenced Schonberg, including Brahms, Mozart, Schubert and Wagner.
“Schonberg is right up there with Mozart, Schubert,” said Patches, “and is probably the most significant composer of the 20th century.” Schonberg was one of the first composers to embrace tonality, and Patches calls “The Book of Hanging Gardens” his “first atonal masterpiece.” Patches has written word-for-word English translations of the songs for the audience. Those interested in attending the concert and learning about Schonberg’s work should expect to put in some effort: Patches recommends that audience members bring a pencil and take notes.
Tschanz said she and Patches first met 20 years ago on Long Island before either of them moved to Maine. The two will also perform the concert at Colby. Tickets for the show at Minsky Recital Hall are $26 and are available at the Maine Center for the Arts box office.
Bangor Daily News