Josef Suk – Meditation on an Old Bohemian Hymn: in 1914, Suk wrote this piece in an attempt to rally the Bohemian/Czech people to press for independence from the Austrian Empire.
Thomas Roncevic – Bulgarian Suite (part 1): Bulgaria was under Turkish Domination for 500 years, but maintained their folk music traditions with seemingly little Turkish influence – a kind of cultural independence. These pieces were written for the ASQ and are being performed this fall for the first time.
Adolphus Hailstork – Variations on ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot’: a fierce, dynamic expression of the rage of enslaved peoples and their longing for freedom.
Vasyl Barvinsky – Elegy: written for his teacher, Mikola Lysenko, we dedicate this performance to the victims of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Barvinsky was himself imprisoned by the Soviet government.
Antonin Dvorak – String Quartet in E flat major, Op. 51: Dvorak, father-in-law of Josef Suk, had a gentler way of expressing Bohemian nationalism, in the use of folk music rhythms and melodic styles.