Masterpiece Discovery

Rehearsing Schubert’s String Quintet for our Masterpiece Discovery Debut (February 2012)

Variety is the guiding principle behind Salastina’s general programming philosophy. With “Masterpiece Discovery,” however, we intend to achieve the same end goal of audience engagement in a different way. Rather than offering up a wide variety of shorter pieces, “Masterpiece Discovery” shines the spotlight on one great masterpiece. By sharing well-chosen musical examples (and explaining their meaning within the context of the piece as a whole), first-time and veteran concert-goers alike enjoy a unique event that is both entertaining and educational.

In each “Masterpiece Discovery” concert, we address questions such as:

~ What was the composer like?
~ What is the story behind this particular piece?
~ What makes the writing so masterful on a technical level?
~ What are the technical elements that the composer used to convey emotion?
~ What is a masterpiece, and what makes this piece one of them?
~ How does a masterpiece elevate and enrich us, its audience?

“It is certainly not then — not in dreams — but when one is wide awake, at moments of robust joy and achievement, on the highest terrace of consciousness, that mortality has a chance to peer beyond its own limits, from the mast, from the past and its castle tower. And although nothing much can be seen through the mist, there is somehow the blissful feeling that one is looking in the right direction.”
~ Vladimir Nabokov (Speak, Memory)