"Homage": Purcell, Britten, Tchaikovsky, and Arensky

Discover how musical brilliance sparks future greatness in this contrasting program at La Jolla Music Society SummerFest, honoring the profound exchange of influence between composers with an extraordinary collection of soul-stirring works. The concert begins with Purcell’s Chacony in G Minor in the arrangement by Benjamin Britten, a stately Baroque ground bass composition reimagined for modern orchestration to amplify its emotional depth and structural clarity. First performed on the exact date of the Purcell anniversary, 21 November 1945, Britten’s String Quartet No. 2 pays homage to the composer in a final movement that is the namesake and formal successor of the Purcell work. Our musical journey continues into the Romantic era, with Tchaikovsky’s trio of pieces for violin and piano, Souvenir d’un lieu cher, built on rich emotional warmth and nostalgic melodies. Dedicated to the memory of Tchaikovsky, Arensky’s String Quartet No. 2 presents the perfect conclusion to the program, an elegiac work with allusions to Russian liturgical chant and celebratory folksong.