NYU's La Maison Française To Host Roussel Chamber Music Concert, April 27

On Sunday, April 27, at 3 p.m., La Maison Française of New York University will present a concert of chamber music by Albert Roussel (1869-1937). The concert will take place at La Maison Française, 16 Washington Mews (near 8th Street at the corner of University Place). Concert admission is $10 ($5 for NYU students with current I.D.). Seating is limited, and reservations are required. The public may call (212) 998-8750, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

This concert honors the memory of Alice Tully, a longtime friend and supporter of NYU's Maison Française, which marks its 40th year this month.

The concert will feature works by Roussel for winds, strings, and voice, and will include Deux poèmes de Ronsard (1924) for flute and soprano (two ironic poems wittily set); Jours de flute (1925) for flute and piano (four short movements recalling famous flutists in myth and literature); Sérénade (1925) for flute and harp with string trio; Andante and Scherzo (1934); and the Divertissement (1906).

Eleven musicians will contribute to the afternoon's festivities: Jayn Rosenfeld, flute; Marcia Butler, oboe; JoAnn Sternberg, clarinet; Atsuko Sato, bassoon; Nancy Billman, French horn; Curtis Macomber, violin; Mary Hammann, viola; Robert Martin, cello; Bernard Rose, piano; Susan Jolles, harp; and Christine Schadeburg, soprano. Jerrold Siegel, Kenan Professor of History at NYU, will provide an historical commentary on Roussel's career.

The turn-of-the-century composer Albert Roussel wrote an intriguing corpus of chamber music with flute. The works for this instrument all date from his mature period of composition when his music was both economical and expressive. Roussel's music contains several strands of French tradition: a neo-classic impulse towards formal structure, fascination with foreign, specifically Asian musical traditions (Indian, Javanese, Japanese) and their exotic rapport with French music, and the lighthearted, relatively popular boulevard and café music of casual enjoyment.

4/4/97