Flowers in the Desert
20/21 Ensemble
David Serkin Ludwig, director
Lenfest Hall, Curtis Institute of Music

Curtis alumnus and world-renowned pianist Peter Serkin joins Curtis 20/21 and the Vera String Quartet to perform Arnold Schoenberg’s Ode to Napoleon, a work written in 1942 in response to the rise of authoritarianism and World War II. The program features other politically-charged works: pieces by Curtis alumni Jonathan Bailey Holland and David Ludwig, 20/21’s artistic director; and gripping musical statements by David Lang and Nina Young.