Please join us for Valley of the Moon Music Festival’s Season 9: Transformation: Grand Works on an Intimate Scale. This year we highlight works—originally written for large orchestras—in chamber music versions.

Many composers made transcriptions of their own works for smaller ensembles. For instance, Stravinsky took his “Rite of Spring”—composed for an immense orchestra—and reimagined it for four-hands piano. There were many reasons for transcriptions, not least to make it possible for the middle class to hear and play music in their own homes, at a time when there were no CDs or radios.

It is thrilling for players and listeners alike to be in intimate proximity with massive and ambitious works. And it is extraordinary that even without massive string sections or trumpets and drums, it is still possible to experience all the expressive power of this music.