Skaneateles Festival schedules a week of music by Bohemian composers

D&E3.JPGDavid Ying is co-artistic director of the Skaneateles Festival. 

Contributing writer

If you describe someone as Bohemian, you're probably thinking they're kind of unconventional and artsy. Totally understandable, since Bohemia (the region now the Czech Republic) has been an artistic and cultural hotbed for at least the last millennium. In a world in which our phones seem out of date only months after you get them, it's fascinating to contemplate such a richly sustained history.

With the help of the outstanding musicians of A Far Cry, the Skaneateles Festival will get the chance to appreciate the rich tradition of Bohemian music. Classical music lovers would probably first think of Dvorak. I personally am drawn to his wonderful tunes, emotional harmonies, and especially his way with countermelodies; he's someone who really pays attention to what the "back-up singers" are doing. We'll hear a quintet he wrote while visiting New York (unfortunately, he never made it Upstate which was his loss).

Beyond Dvorak, we'll hear early examples of Bohemian music, such as the "Battalia" of Heinrich Biber, a spirited musical depiction of ancient warfare. More recently, composers such as Erwin Schulhoff and Gideon Klein, Bohemian composers of Jewish heritage, wrote some of their most powerful music while imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps. They showed how music affirms humanity, even in the most inhumane circumstances.

Historically in between, we'll also hear Schubert's amazing string quintet (the piece that inspired me to become a musician). Schubert famously inspired Dvorak. Inspiration underlies all of the music this week, since all of these Bohemians seemed to inspire one another. And, I think, in turn we'll all be inspired by the glorious music that closes this year's festival. See you at the concerts and thank you for supporting the Skaneateles Festival.

David Ying is co-artistic director of the Skaneateles Festival with his wife, Elinor Freer.