Scored for a string quartet, August. Sunset Bloom was written on a commission by Anna Rabinova, violinist of the New York Philharmonic, and will be performed by the orchestra’s musicians, violinists Anna Rabinova, Duoming Ba, violist Dawn Hannay and cellist Qiang Tu.

Set in four movements, August. Sunset Bloom is based on the composer’s perception of nature and its many wonders as observed at New York City’s Upper Fort Tryon Park. The first movement, Music of the Trees, explores the somewhat concealed, yet ever-present melody of nature at the center of which are the trees, different in character, each one projecting a striking image. Flowers Carnival follows. It is the composer’s response to the overwhelming beauty of nature’s palette. She writes: “I can't tear my eyes away from this Spring Awakening of nature, so naive, questioning, pure and innocent, like a child; wild from the summer, filled with impressionistic, vibrating color blotches, and finally, the staggering autumn beauty, whose decadence touches the soul so deeply.” In the third movement, Hudson. Light and Darkness, the composer finds herself looking at the Hudson River separated into two contrasting parts: one a cheerful shore, shimmering in the sun, the other draped in shadow, darkness and melancholy. Autumn Anticipation ends the work as the late summer gives way to the inevitable autumn, filled with shades of gray.

Also featured on the program is music by Brahms, Golijov, Tsypin, Hertel and Carrick. The complete program is as follows:

• Johann Wilhelm Hertel: Concerto a cinque in D major
• Margarita Zelenaia: August. Sunset Bloom (World Premiere)
• Osvaldo Golijov: Last Round
• Richard Carrick: Duo Flow
• Vladimir Tsypin: Three Songs
• Brahms: Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 101

Merkin Concert Hall is located at Kaufman Center, 129 West 69th Street in New York. Tickets are available by calling (212) 501-3330 or online at www.merkinconcerthall.org .

About Margarita Zelenaia

The music of Russian-born composer Margarita Zelenaia received its Lincoln Center premiere in 1997 and its Carnegie Hall premiere in 2001. In 2007, Ms. Zelenaia was awarded the “Encore” program grant from the American Composers Forum, and a year later her works were being performed at the Kaplan Penthouse Chamber Music Series at Lincoln Center by musicians of the New York Philharmonic.

Versatile in genre, the music of Margarita Zelenaia defies stylistic boundaries and ranges from operatic and chamber works, to musical theater and art songs. Without prejudices and stereotypes in her writing, Zelenaia posses a rare ability to infuse her music with humor and lyrical tenderness, while also producing works of tremendous depth and seriousness. Casting aside the stereotypical mold of a “contemporary” composer, Zelenaia is a strong believer in melody and direct audience communication.

Margarita Zelenaia has been commissioned by the musicians of the New York Philharmonic, the Ministry of Culture of the former USSR, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Moscow Concert Philharmonic Society and the Russian Chamber Orchestra – “The Seasons,” among many others. Her recent works are in the performing repertoire of musicians from the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Opera, the New York Philharmonic, etc., as well as other renowned artists such as concert pianist Ana Maria Bottazzi, Russian cellist Christophor Miroshnikov, Italian concert pianist Paolo Vergari, Albanian baritone Kreshnik Zhabjaku, soprano Melanie Mitrano, mezzo-soprano Leslie Middlebrook, concert violinist Nina Beilina, One World Symphony Singers & Ensemble, and chamber orchestra “Bachanalia.”

Her two-act comic opera for children Winnie the Pooh Once Again, commissioned by the Moscow State Academic Children’s Musical Theatre, has been performed in over 400 major venues in Russia, Japan, South Korea, Israel and Czechoslovakia, becoming a part of Children’s Musical Theater’s standard repertoire for over 15 years. Excerpts from Zelenaia’s musical Alice in Wonderland have sold more than 450,000 copies to date and over 40 performances of her miscellaneous works, including incidental works for TV and movies, have been broadcast in Russia, Israel and the United States. Her vocal cycles, art songs, works for chamber ensembles and piano compositions for children have subsequently been performed at the Moscow Autumn Festival, the Young Peoples’ Arts Festival, the Moscow Spring Festival, the Tutti New Music Festival in Ohio, the New Music North (Canada), and the American Composers Alliance Festival (New York), to name a few.

Zelenaia began her compositions studies at an early age and by the age of 12 hosted her own musical TV program that was broadcast internationally. Recipient of the prestigious Lenin Scholarship, her mentors included Professor Genrich Litinskyi, the former teacher of Aram Khachaturyan. In 2007, the biography of Margarita Zelenaia was included in the 61st Edition of the Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who Among America Women that feature the career histories and credentials of the country’s most accomplished and influential individuals.

She is currently living in New York, where she is an active composer and a sought-after educator.