Randall Scarlata | Gilles Vonsattel

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Powers’ sextet of poems from 2013 forms the basis of composer Perry Goldstein’s song cycle, “Birding by Ear.” Baritone Randall Scarlata, admired for his “compelling desire to bring texts to life” (The New York Times), will be joined by the musicians with whom he premiered the work in 2022—violinist Philip Setzer, cellist Paul Watkins, and pianist Gilles Vonsattel. Wenzel Müller’s amusing aria “Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu,” followed by Beethoven’s equally buoyant variations on the song, embrace the avian theme; and the sounds of the woodland are further celebrated in Schubert’s “Die Forelle,” based on the poem by Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart, as well as the composer’s subsequent and well-loved “Trout” Quintet. Timothy Cobb, the renowned Principal Bass of the New York Philharmonic, is featured.

Tuesday, July 29 at 5:00 p.m.  Manchester Community Library
Richard Powers, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Overstory, will join Philip Setzer, Perry Goldstein, Paul Watkins, Gilles Vonsattel, and Randall Scarlata for a discussion and demonstration of “Birding by Ear.”

Program:
Wenzel Müller / “Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu” (“I am the tailor Cockatoo”) (1794)
Beethoven / “Kakadu” Variations, Op. 121a (1803)
Perry Goldstein / “Birding by Ear”, settings of poems by Richard Powers (2022)
Schubert / Song “Die Forelle” (“The Trout”) (1817)
Schubert / “Trout” Quintet (“Die Forelle”), D. 667, Op.114 (1819) 

Artists:
Randall Scarlata, baritone
Gilles Vonsattel, piano
Philip Setzer, violin
Paul Watkins, cello
Timothy Cobb, bass
MMF Young Artists

Richard Powers

Philip Setzer

Perry Goldstein

Paul Watkins

Randall Scarlata

Gilles Vonsattel