Fireworks, cannons and a great American president:

Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and Copland’s Lincoln Portrait

Saturday, March 18, 2:00-3:30 pm, Sturtz Meeting Room

Elke Jahns-Harms

Anyone who has ever watched the fireworks on the Boston Esplanade has heard Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture … but what are the French national anthem and Russian folksongs doing in this Fourth of July favorite? Packed with drama and emotion, this piece relates the progress of a bitter war, as fortune favors first one side and then the other. How does the music tell the story? What happened to this piece during the Soviet era? And did Tchaikovsky really intend to include genuine cannons?

Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait is a powerful homage to a great man, written to inspire a country in the midst of a terrible war. It tells the story of both an individual life and a nation, drawing on African American folk music, an early American ballad, and Lincoln’s own words. What makes this piece so moving and ground-breaking?

We will listen to both pieces, interspersed with discussions about the composers, the key musical elements, and the historical context. This is an engaging and interactive presentation for both lifelong musicians and those who claim to know absolutely nothing about classical music.

For adults and kids aged 13 and up.

About the presenter: Elke Jahns-Harms holds a Master’s in Music and a PhD in International Relations. She currently teaches International Development Aid at The Fletcher School of Tufts University, and previously taught Music and Social Change at the New England Conservatory. A professional flutist, she has found music to be a crucial means of connecting with people wherever she goes, and her flutes are among the first items she packs on her travels. Her courses often bring together her life-long interests in music, poverty alleviation, social justice, and peacebuilding. Elke loves to make classical music accessible to broad audiences and has led dozens of music appreciation classes for novices and experienced musicians alike through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Tufts University.