Darius Milhaud conducting (artist unknown, from the Web page for this year’s Darius Milhaud Concert)
There is only one event to report this week. Back in the pre-pandemic days, I had more than enough to keep me busy by confining my attention to the San Francisco city limits. These days, however, I feel that it makes sense to go after streaming opportunities, particularly when they capture the spontaneity of a “live” performance.
As a result this will be my second account of a forthcoming performance taking place under the auspices of Mills College. The previous account actually took place in Chicago; but it was presented by Mills, since it featured cellist Tomeka Reid, who currently holds the Mills Darius Milhaud Chair in Music Composition. This time the performance will actually be live-streamed from the Littlefield Concert Hall on the Mills campus, and it will be the annual Darius Milhaud Concert.
As might be expected, most of the music will be by Milhaud, who taught at Mills between 1947 and 1971. This will included a selection of his songs based on texts from an impressive variety of sources, all sung by soprano Melissa Givens accompanied by Genevieve Feiwen Lee at the piano. Lee will also play excerpts from the solo piano suite La muse ménagère (the household muse). There will be chamber music performances of the 1940 sonatina for two violins, played by Sarah Thornblade and Sara Parkins, and the 1953 sonatina for violin and cello, played by Sara and Maggie Parkins.
The program will also present a “before, during, and after” account of music related to Milhaud. The “before” will be provided by Givens singing Erik Satie’s “La Statue de Bronze,” again accompanied by Lee. Thornblade and Parkins will couple their sonatina performance with the 1920 sonatina that Arthur Honegger dedicated to Milhaud. Composers influenced by Milhaud will include Zeena Parkins (her “Sistere” for solo cello and electronics, played by Maggie Parkins), William Bolcom’s “The Song of Black Max,” and Burt Bacharach’s “What the World Needs Now,” both sung by Givens accompanied by Lee.
The concert will begin at 8 p.m. this coming Friday, October 2. There is no charge for this event, but registration will be required through an Eventbrite event page. Those registering can also include a donation prior to checkout. Once checkout has been completed, information about the streaming source will be provided. Full program details and notes can be found on the Darius Milhaud Concert Web page on the Mills Performing Arts Calendar Web site. The Web page for the concert also includes a hyperlink to the Eventbrite site to establish admission.
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