Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth: In the Theater of Life

"In the Theater of Life" is the perfect title for this concert which features two works written during a time of dramatic upheaval in the lives of the composers - - Igor Stravinsky and Olivier Messiaen.

Stravinsky was a refugee living in Switzerland when he composed L’histoire du soldat. Stravinsky's inspiration for the work was a Russian folk tale of a poor soldier who sells his soul (represented by his violin) to the Devil in exchange for youth, wealth, and power. The work is performed by a septet that includes violin, bass, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, and percussion. Because the work is filled with many changing time signatures, it is commonly performed with a conductor. Ruth Reinhardt, assistant conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, conducts the ensemble for this performance.

Puppeteer, Dan Butterworth, brings his life-size marionettes and shadow puppets to the Modern Art Museum stage to provide a dramatic visual representation of Stravinsky's L'histoire du soldat.

Olivier Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time is a composition in eight movements for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano. The piece premiered on January 15, 1941, at the Stalag VIIIA prisoner-of-war camp, in Görlitz, Germany. The composer had been confined in the camp since his capture in May 1940, which explains the unique instrumentation.