About This Program

​

For the 2023-24 season finale, The COT explores the influences of folklore and literature in music. Master Shakespeare is the first source of inspiration for Erich Korngold’s Much Ado About Nothing Suite. Originally composed as incidental music for a run of Shakespeare’s comedy in Vienna, this charming collection of movements is filled with the sparkle and lushness that would later make Korngold Hollywood’s leading film composer.

Grammy nominated composer Zhou Tian was commissioned by The COT to compose a new flute concerto for flautist Mimi Stillman in 2018. Exploring the diversity of musical styles through reflection on the flute’s long and rich heritage, this exciting new work is finally making its NC premiere!

If you thought the original Brothers Grimm fairy tales were scary, try reading Karel Erben’s collection of Czech fairy tales entitled Kytice. At the heart of Bohemian folklore, these gruesome stories inspired Antonin Dvorak to compose four masterful tone poems that are directly tied to Erben’s text. With a handsome prince, a beautiful maiden, and a jealous stepmother and sister, The Golden Spinning Wheel seems like your typical bed time fare… apart from the dismemberment! (Spoiler alert)