When international concert flutist Laura Falzon moved to Rye, she fell in love with the town. She knew she wanted to direct a concert series here, inspired by the beautiful residential neighborhoods, picturesque high street and beautiful seaside walks. When she visited Wainwright House, a beautiful replica of a French Chateau on the Long Island Sound, the idea for Concerts on the Sound was born.
Classics on the Sound is a newly inaugurated chamber music series aiming to present performances of the highest caliber, by some of classical music’s finest musicians. The idyllic setting of Wainwright House forms the background to these concerts, with its picture-perfect views and stunning interior.
Artistic director Laura Falzon is now based in New York City. She has performed on concert stages throughout the US, Europe and Asia in venues ranging from the Carnegie Hall in New York City, to the Megaron Concert Hall in Thessaloniki Greece. When she proposed the idea for Classics on the Sound to Wainwright House’s Laurie Jordan last year, they began planning the series of concerts.
They held their inaugural concert of the series “A Classical Winter Solstice”, a festive program for flute and harp, on December 21st 2019. The house was decorated beautifully for Christmas, including a lavish Christmas tree, lights and poinsettias, the perfect setting for chamber music to be experienced as it was originally intended – in an intimate setting.
Before the concert began there were drinks and hors d’oevres served in the library, while audience members mingled with one another and met the musicians.
This first concert was sold out, performed by Laura Falzon, flute, and Susan Jolles, harp as the Falzon-Jolles flute and harp duo. Jolles is a longstanding member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, who has performed and recorded with artists as diverse as Giora Feidman, Kenny Garrett and James Galway.
This festive program opened with two delightful sonatas by the Baroque masters, Handel and J.S. Bach, followed by works including an arrangement of Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 5 in G major written between 1774-5. Following a brief intermission, the second half of the program included works by 19th and 20th century composers including Saint-Saëns’s Romance Op. 37, a set of Medieval dances by Joseph Lauber; English composer John Ireland’s The Holy Boy, written on Christmas Day of 1913; Marcel Samuel-Rousseau’s Variations Pastorales Sur un Vieux Noël; and Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Greensleeves, whose main melody has been associated with Christmas and New Year since the 17th century.
Laura Falzon and Wainwright House are delighted to be presenting this series together and hope that Rye and its surrounding communities support this new endeavor by coming to the concerts and helping to spread the word.
The second concert in this inaugural series takes place on Valentine’s Day, February 14th. In keeping with the romantic occasion, the concert is titled “If music be the food of love, play on!”. Taken from William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, in which the love-struck Duke Orsino, in his desire for the Countess Olivia, calls for music because he believes it inspires love.
Joyce Balint, mandolinist with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, will join the Falzon-Jolles flute and harp duo performing a program of works by Vivaldi, Mozart, Turina, Villoldo and a selection of pieces by Beethoven specifically written for the mandolin.
What could be more romantic than wine, cheese, and classics on the Long Island Sound? If you’re looking for the perfect Valentine’s Day date night, romantic gift or simply want to experience a wonderful concert in a beautiful setting, come along to “If music be the food of love, play on!”.
We hope that you will join us for this very special concert on 14 February.
Buy tickets now: classics-on-the-sound-valentines.eventbrite.com
Classics on the Sound on Facebook: www.facebook.com/classicsonthesound