Ode to the Deserter

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Sing-Akademie zu Berlin presented an oratorical choral concert that interwove excerpts from César Franck’s Les Béatitudes with the German premiere of Frederic Rzewski’s complete choral cycle Ode to the Deserter. Staged at the historically significant Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, the program juxtaposed Franck’s late-Romantic French sound world with Rzewski’s politically charged minimalism to form a powerful artistic appeal against war. The evening honored both the 200th anniversary of César Franck’s birth and the recent passing of Frederic Rzewski. Curated by Christian Filips, the sequence alternated movements to create a sustained dialogue between the two composers’ responses to themes of peace, resistance, and consolation.