This program honors those lost in World War I with music and a film shaped directly by the conflict.
The 1918 silent film Under Four Flags was shot in the uncertain summer of 1918, when Allied victory was far from assured. When the war ended, the filmmakers had to refilm its conclusion. The four flags represent America, France, Great Britain, and Canada. A new score by Max Caplan enhances the emotional progression of the film for today’s audience.
The concert opens with a work by Mihail Jora, written while he was recovering in a hospital after being wounded on the Eastern Front. His music is a personal response to the devastation of war.
The major work is Samuel Gardner's piano quintet, composed after the death of violinist David Hochstein, who was killed on the Western Front in France in October 1918. Deeply heartfelt and moving, the quintet serves as a musical memorial to Hochstein’s life. Gardner, an important violinist and recipient of the first Pulitzer Prize in Music in 1918, was also the grandfather of longtime Musicians of Ma’alwyck board member Eric Weiner.
Under Four Flags is a powerful tribute to remembrance, sacrifice, and the enduring human response to war.