David Liptak: Cold Litanies
One hallmark of the First Muse concert series has been its commitment to commissioning new works. For Joys and Litanies: A Local Perspective, a concert held on September 24, 2017, First Muse Artistic Director Melissa Matson refined that idea, programming works by three Rochester composers: David Liptak (left), Cary Ratcliff (lower rt), and James Willey. Cold Litanies, a work written by David Liptak in 2007 and revised in 2015, is featured on Performance Rochester.
From the program notes: Artists are often inspired (or at least affected) by their environment; such is the case of David Liptak, stalwart member of the Eastman School composition faculty. For his trio Cold Litanies he found inspiration in the "cold, wintry images that fill the months between autumn and spring in the places I live." He says while Cold Litanies "does not have a direct correlation between the sound of the piece and the images of snow, ice, or winter's chill, I wrote the music searching for 'crystalline clarity' and, perhaps, the 'sharpening of the senses' that cold can bring."
The trio is performed by RPO principal flute Rebecca Gilbert (middle rt), cellist Mimi Hwang (upper rt), and Cary Ratcliff on the piano. Here is "Blue," the first movement.
