American Dream

The United States was once a country of wind instruments. The industrial revolution of the nineteenth century made it possible to produce them on a mass scale, and at the same time caused the establishment of workers' orchestras near the factories, which increased the demand for them. Then came the jazz phenomenon. In the year that Americans celebrate the 200th anniversary of their country, LutosAir Quintet will dedicate a concert to music from overseas, focusing on music created after World War II.

The evening will open the work of Kerry Turner. This Texas-born artist is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music in New York, he also studied in Stuttgart. He successfully combines the composition with the playing of the horn. The Road to Tasartico was impressed by his visit to the eponymous settlement on the west Atlantic coast of Gran Canaria and its rugged volcanic landscape. The audience will then hear the Ruth Crawford Seeger Wind Quintet Suite. Under the influence of her husband, renowned musicologist Charles Seeger, she became deeply involved in documenting American folklore. She completed the piece in 1952, shortly before her untimely death. Returning to creative activity with this work, she turned to the musical language of the European avant-garde. The work earned her a victory in the National Association for American Composers and Conductors competition, a success that turned out to be one of the last chords of the composer's life.

The show will also feature the work of Valerie Coleman. Kentucky-born flutist and band founder Imani Winds is an acclaimed Grammy-nominated songwriter today. Her Tzigane is the result of the fascination with Eastern Europe seen from the perspective of Roma culture, as well as Middle Eastern music performed on the lute of the thighs — so it boils with an expression that clearly brings to mind these regions of the world. The concert will be complemented by the work of Massachusetts-born David Maslanka. He earned honors at the Oberlin College Conservatory, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and Michigan State University. His international fame was brought to him by composing for wind instruments. His 2nd Wind Quintet was commissioned in 1986 by the Manhattan Wind Quintet and premiered at New York's famous Carnegie Hall. The artist, masterfully extracting the richness of colors of individual elements of the cast, combined simplicity, accessibility and inspiration from popular music with modern sound language.