Philadelphia Chamber Music Society: The Music of Robert Capanna

Presented by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society

Robert Capanna has had a profound influence on the musical life of Greater Philadelphia, both as a composer of poignant concert music and in a leadership role with many important cultural institutions. Bob is a dear friend of the PRISM Quartet, and has been a vital member of our board of directors for nearly 10 years, expertly guiding PRISM on our organizational and artistic development.

We are proud to join forces with Network for New Music in the world premiere of his “Piccolo Concertante” for saxophone quartet and string quintet. The program features three other works by Bob, including the world premiere of “What I Know,” based on an original text by the composer.

ABOUT THE COMPOSER
Robert Capanna was born in 1952 in Camden, New Jersey, and spent his early musical life commuting to Philadelphia for music lessons. Originally a trombonist, he received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in composition from the Philadelphia Music Academy where he studied with Joseph Castaldo and Theodore Antoniou. In 1974, he was the Bruno Maderna Fellow in Composition at the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood where he worked with Jacob Druckman and was awarded the Koussevitsky Prize in composition.

Mr. Capanna’s works have been performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Penn Contemporary Players, Orchestra Society of Philadelphia, Amherst Music Center Orchestra, Dallas Civic Symphony, the Berkshire Music Center Orchestra, Network for New Music, the Trio di Milano, Colorado String Quartet, Mendelssohn Quartet, Concerto Soloists, Orchestra 2001 and the Philadelphia Singers.

From 1982-2009, Mr. Capanna has served as executive director of the Settlement Music School, a community school of the arts serving over 9,000 students at six locations throughout the greater Philadelphia region.

Click HERE for more info.

PROGRAM

Piano Sonata No. 2

What I Know [World Premiere]

Concertante for Saxophone Quartet and String Quintet [World Premiere]

New Chamber Work [World Premiere]