One of the great American composers of the 20th century, Leon Kirchner (1919-2009) was a great friend of and dynamic contributor to the music program at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
Kirchner served as co-director of the Gardner Chamber Orchestra from 1995–2002, and the museum’s Tapestry Room has been the site of the premieres of many of his works, including the Boston premiere of Duo No. 2, the American premiere of Interlude No. 2, and the world premiere of Sonata No. 2. In September 2007, Kirchner’s Interlude No. 1 and Sonata No. 2 for piano became the first works by a living composer to be included on the Gardner Museum’s successful free classical music podcast, The Concert, which features live recordings of music performed in the museum’s Tapestry Room.
On January 15, 2009, Kirchner returned to the Gardner for a special concert in celebration of his 90th birthday. An assembly of acclaimed musicians including Jeremy Denk, Paula Robison, Corey Cerovsek, and the Claremont Trio—many of them with close personal and professional ties to the composer—presented an all-Kirchner program as part of the Composer Portraits series of contemporary classical concerts.
In honor of Leon Kirchner’s extraordinary life and works--and in celebration of his relationship with the museum--we are pleased to share these video excerpts from the January 2009 concert. Each piece is prefaced by a brief introduction by Kirchner and flutist Paula Robison, who served as host for the evening.
Kirchner: Trio No. 2 (1993) performed by the Claremont Trio
Kirchner: Flutings for Paula (1973)
performed by Paula Robison, flute, and Ayano Kataoka, percussion
More information about Leon Kirchner, including free recordings of the two works included on The Concert podcast, is available in our online music library. For an interview with Leon Kirchner from April 2009 on WBUR’s Here & Now, click here.
All videos on this page are property of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and made available by arrangement with G. Schirmer, Inc. The videos may not be altered, copied, or rebroadcast in whole or in part using any media.
