Ensemble-in-Residence Radius Ensemble | Howl

High contrast marks the third performance of the season—from profound whispers to piercing howls. Fragments of text from Jacques Roubaud’s Échanges de la lumière arise from an eerie nocturnal soundscape in …de la terre for violin and tape, the third movement of Kaija Saariaho’s ballet Maa. Sean Kisch’s Cerberus for horn, cello and piano gallops from the stage like a sinister movie villain, after which breezy, mournful melodies gently follow one another in David Lang’s anti-virtuosic wind quintet, breathless. The ensemble takes a sharp turn for Beethoven’s lively Duet with Two Obligato Eyeglasses, WoO 32 for viola and cello and brings the concert to a ravishing close with Kenji Bunch’s New Moon and Morning for flute and strings.