"The next WMV concert will be Tuesday, July 15 at 8:00 pm at BannerArts,
the unique warehouse/studio at 4233C Howard Avenue in Kensington, MD,
in the 'West Howard Antique District' (see our website for map). The WMV
warehouse is very informal, and although the overhead door will be open,
it is likely to be warm - dress lightly! Admission is $12 at the door;
call 301-493-5729 or reply to this email for reservations.

This program evolved from inner pressure to share some solo work, old
and new.  Milhaud's 'Household Muse' has fascinated me for some time.
He wrote it in 1944, a wartime hymn to domestic happiness, in 15 scenes,
with titles such as cooking, laundry, the cat, flowers in the house, and
the sweetness of the evening. The music is intimate, quirky, and fresh.

I am also returning to my favorite Brahms variations, the D major
Variations on an original theme, Op. 21#1. There is always something new
to discover in them; and they are so beautiful! The variations disguise
very sophisticated complex counterpoint in lushly simple harmonies, and
playfully juxtapose rhythms of twos and threes, often just above a
whisper.

Bob Dylan's music has had a profound effect on my life. I think of his
work as a direct window into the American soul. When I need serious inner
strengthening, I always turn to Dylan. These are a few of the songs that
mean the most to me: Dear Landlord; It Takes a Lot to Laugh (It Takes a
Train to Cry); Watching the River Flow; and Father of Night.

Masa Mitsumoto recently showed me his beautiful Elegy 'For Milton,' a
short work for clarinet and piano that he had written as a memorial for
a friend.  It gives me a chance to introduce clarinetist (and composer)
Pamela Helton, whom I admire very much. She plays beautifully, and she
directs the Lyra Ensemble, a music non-profit like WMV on Capitol Hill."

Carl Banner
Washington Musica Viva
http://www.geocities.com/washingtonmusicaviva