2019 Subscription concert 2

Cynthia Lee Wong‘s Carnival Fever is inspired by the Alexandre Dumas novel, The Count of Monte Cristo. The chapter “Carnival at Rome” paints exuberant atmosphere, bright colors and fun, held in tension with a sense of things going wildly out of control, an undercurrent of danger and revenge. Alexandre Desplat won the 2018 Academy Award for his score written for the film The Shape of Water. The score gives voice to the film’s two mute characters, a cleaning woman and an amphibious creature (the latter voiced by an accordion playing in South American bandoneon style, suggesting the creature’s geographical home). Bay Area based composer Mason Bates once again combines orchestra and electronica in his composition, The B-Sides. He writes, “[Like] the forgotten bands from the flipside of an old piece of vinyl, The B-Sides offers brief landings on a variety of peculiar planets, unified by a focus on fluorescent orchestral sonorities and the morphing rhythms of electronica.” Rachel Portman composed the score for Cider House Rules, a 1999 Academy Award winner. Aaron Copland mastered an assortment of musical idioms over his long career, ranging from avant-garde to popular formats. El Salon Mexico was his first work in his most popular style, representing “an uncomplicated form of American nationalism.”