Image: Emily Dickinson, Herbarium (ca. 1839-1846)

BLOOM

May 30th, 2025

American poet Emily Dickinson kept a remarkable herbarium, a collection of dried flowers labeled with their scientific/colloquial names and arranged compellingly with careful attention to scale and visual cadence on each page. Join us for a concert that applies this floriography to music with a collection of pieces honoring different “beautiful children of spring” — violets, hyacinths, lilacs, fuchsias, and many more. Frederic Rzewski, Amy Beach, Margaret Bonds, Juhi Bansal, and more reflect on love and loss through the poignant, ephemeral language of bloom.

Program

Pietro Mascagni: “Son pochi fiori” from L’amico Fritz

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: “Das Veilchen”

Clara Schumann: “Das Veilchen”

Amy Beach: From Grandmother’s Garden

Juhi Bansal: “Exile” and “Tulip” from Love, Loss, and Exile

Intermission

Johannes Brahms: “Wie Melodien zieht es mir” from 5 Lieder Op. 105

Sergei Prokofiev: “Doversya mne” from 5 Poems Op. 23

Kaija Saariaho: “Rauha” from Leino Songs

Jean Sibelius: “Var det en dröm?” from 5 Songs Op. 37

Lili Boulanger: “Reflets”

William Grant Still: “Breath of a Rose”

Harry Thacker Burleigh: “Among the Fuchsias”

Margaret Bonds: “Hyacinth”

Joan Tower: “Holding a Daisy” from No Longer Very Clear

Frederic Rzewski: Flowers 1 for speaking pianist

Artists

Alexandre Tchaykov, piano

Carmen Edano, mezzo soprano

Yekaterina Lynch, soprano

Location

TBA