For over 30 years The Sylvan Winds has earned both critical and audience acclaim for its spirited performances and innovative programming as one of New York's most versatile chamber music ensembles.
The group has performed at numerous prestigious music halls and festivals, including the Weill Recital Hall, Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival, Town Hall, Merkin Concert Hall and Symphony Space, and the Governor's Arts Awards. They have also performed at the White Mountains, Cape Cod and Caramoor International Music Festivals, have toured major university and chamber music series nationally including Amherst College, the Chicago Chamber Music Society, Rutgers University's Summerfest, and the University of the Pacific, as well as performing in Korea, including the Sejong Cultural Center.
Tonight they open their Spring 2011 Season at Carlton Hobbs with a concert entitled A La Française, featuring pieces by Rameau, Kriens, Chrétien, Cowell, Dvorak. The concert will also feature selections from Grétry's opéra-comique Zemire et Azor, which, interestingly is also the subject of five extremely rare faux tapestry panels in our collection, circa 1775.
A favorite of Marie-Antoinette, Zémire et Azor was first performed at Fontainebleau in November of 1771 and was dedicated to Madame du Barry. It would later be performed for the emperor Napoleon. The story was an adaptation set in Persia of Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's tale 'La Belle et Bete' ('Beauty and the Beast') first published in 1756. The costume and décor illustrated in the panels follow the much imitated, extravagant A La Turc style promoted by Marie-Antoinette, which represented the height of fashion and opulence. It seems extremely likely that the five panels were conceived as preliminary designs or maquettes for tapestries, probably for one of the great French factories such as Aubusson or Beauvais.
No comments:
Post a Comment