Musica Angelica gets romantic Sept. 24 and 25 in LA and Santa Monica

There is the Romantic era of music and there is music born of romance. When Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra opens its 2011/2012 season during the weekend of September 24 and 25, fans of the renowned chamber ensemble will sample both.

“Our opening concert, ‘Romantic Duos,’ will feature a work by Beethoven that many believe was inspired by his unsuccessful search for a woman to love, his ‘Immortal Beloved’ made famous by the 1994 movie of the same name,” says Laura Spino, Managing Director. “We also include works by Franz Schubert, who is widely admired as one of the leading exponents of the early Romantic era in music.”

The featured artists for “Romantic Duo” – which will take place on September 24 at 8 p.m. at The Colburn School’s Thayer Hall in downtown Los Angeles and on September 25 at 3 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Santa Monica – are pianist Natalia Grigorieva, a founding member of the Moderntimes 1800 Chamber Orchestra, and Musica Angelica’s concertmaster Ilia Korol, who in addition to his work with Musica Angelica, performed as concertmaster of the Musica Antiqua Köln during its recent tour of the United States.

On the program are Beethoven’s Sonata in G major, Op 96 and two works by Schubert – the Sonata in A major, D574 and Sonata Arpeggiona for viola and pianoforte in A minor D821.

“While Beethoven’s quest for love was unsuccessful, the Op. 96 Violin Sonata was written and successfully completed at the same time as Seventh and Eighth symphonies,” says Korol, who has also performed with The Bach Ensemble, the Spanish Baroque Orchestra RCOC and is a member of the Ars Antiqua Austria and the Clemencic Consort. “These compositions, all written in 1812, increased Beethoven’s fame and reputation both at home and abroad and ensured that his music was performed as frequently as that of the two musical giants of the day, Mozart and Haydn.”

For Schubert, the scenario was somewhat different. “Schubert was hugely prolific, writing over 600 Lieder, nine symphonies, a large body of chamber, liturgical and solo piano music, and a number of operas by the time he died tragically young at the age of 31,” says the violinist. “But interest in his work during his lifetime was limited. Fortunately for music lovers today, composers like Brahms, Liszt and Mendelssohn championed the work of Schubert so that now he is one of classical music’s most frequently performed composers.”

Pianist Natalia Grigorieva will be “a full partner” during the performance of the Schubert's Violin Sonata in A Major, Korol adds. “The publisher of the piece went so far as to describe it as a ‘duo’ and, from the opening bars; it is obvious why he did so. The sonata displays Schubert’s increasing confidence in writing for piano,” he explains.

Schubert also wrote for an instrument many 21st century music lovers are unfamiliar with – the arpeggione. “The arpeggione is a bowed guitar with six strings, similar in size to a cello,” says Spino. “But by the time Schubert’s Sonata Arpeggiona was published, the arpeggione had fallen out of favor and virtually disappeared. Consequently we are presenting the Sonata in a transcription for viola and piano.”

Yet while audiences may not know the arpeggione, they just may recognize the melody around which the first movement of the Sonata Arpeggiona is built.

“And, if you don’t, Natalia and I look forward to introducing it to you,” says Korol with a smile.



Tickets for “Romantic Duo” are reasonably priced at $49/person, with seniors receiving a 10% discount ($39) and students a special price of only $15 with valid identification. In addition, members of KUSC and SCEMS receive $10 off single ticket prices. Subscription discounts are also available, with first time subscribers receiving 30% off their subscription. For more information, to purchase a subscription, or to order tickets, visit www.musicaangelica.org or call 310.458.4504.

The Colburn School’s Thayer Hall is located at 200 South Grand Avenue in Los Angeles, 90012. First Presbyterian Church is located at 1220 2nd Street in Santa Monica, 90401.