Oregon boasts maybe a handful of composers who are well-known in the world of contemporary musical art. One is particularly known internationally, and that is Tomáš Svoboda. Born in Paris to Czech parents, he lived on both sides of the Iron Curtain before finding his ultimate home in Portland. The Delgani String Quartet justly describes him as iconic.
Tomáš has also taken an active interest in the music and careers of other local composers. We at Cascadia Composers are honored to count him among our eight founding members, and he served on our board of directors until his 2012 stroke forced him to give that up. He is still an honorary, valued member of the board.
The Delgani is well on its way to becoming iconic themselves. Come hear them perform three masterly quartets Tomáš wrote in the 21st century: his sixth, inspired by the Shostakovich memoir “Testimony”; his tenth, inspired by a dream of his Czech homeland and its native folk music; and his melodic twelfth, in which he says all human experience, even the inevitable loss of friends as one ages, is accepted and transformed into tenderness.
Performances will be Friday Dec. 6th, 7:30 PM at Tsunami Books in Eugene, and Saturday Dec. 7th, 8:00 PM at Lincoln Recital Hall (Room 75) at Portland State University. Tickets are available by clicking on these two links, by calling 541-579-5882 (for Portland only), or at the door.
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