Music@Menlo presents chamber music events year-round on the Menlo School campus and in the community. This includes world-renowned artists in concert and special performances for donors and friends. Next spring, pianist and composer Michael Stephen Brown returns with an all-star cast of musicians and a specially-curated program. The concert opens with Brown’s brand-new composition, inspired by a diverse animal kingdom and the need to protect our planet’s wildlife.
The second half of the concert is a spectacular presentation of Camille Saint-Saëns’s beloved Carnival of the Animals, each movement vividly “painting” an animal in music. A lyrical cello sings over rippling piano to suggest the graceful gliding of a swan, shimmering arpeggios and glassy textures evoke an aquarium, with each instrument taking on a character. While musically highly sophisticated, it’s immediately appealing to children and casual listeners—one reason it’s still so well-loved in concerts, ballet, film, and education programs today.