Video: BSO, Elena Langer’s “Divorce of Figaro”, Accordionist Cory Pesaturo “CPez” Intro

Cory Pesaturo performed on November 26, 2022 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Elena Langer’s Suite from “Figaro Gets a Divorce” conducted by Anna Rakitina . It is a shorter orchestral version of the opera, “Figaro Gets a Divorce”, based on Ödön von Horváth’s 1936 play, which draws on characters invented by Pierre Beaumarchais, the playwright behind Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” and Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville”.

Elena Langer composed her opera “Figaro Gets a Divorce” for Welsh National Opera in Cardiff, where it was premiered February 21, 2016. The libretto is by David Pountney. The Seattle Symphony Orchestra commissioned the orchestral suite from the opera and premiered it in January 2020 under Maxim Emelyanychev’s direction. The Boston Symphony Orchestra first performed it at Tanglewood on August 14, 2021, under Conductor Anna Rakitina’s direction which Cory Pesaturo also performed on.

The Moscow-born composer Elena Langer studied piano and musicology at Gnessin Music College before attending the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where she studied composition with Yuri Vorontsov. She moved to England, where she is now based, to study at the Royal College of Music with Julian Anderson. She also attended the Royal Academy of Music and has worked with Simon Bainbridge, Sofia Gubaidulina, Jonathan Harvey, and others.

The score for the orchestral suite from “Figaro Gets a Divorce” calls for 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons (2nd doubling contrabassoon), 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (2 players: crotales, glockenspiel, xylophone, vibraphone, tubular bells, police whistle, triangle, sleigh bells, suspended cymbal, crash cymbals, tam-tam, gong, maracas, ratchet, rain stick, whip, claves, guiro, wood blocks, tambourine, bongos, side drum, tenor drum), piano/celesta, accordion, and strings (first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses). The suite is about 18 minutes long.

Cory shares, “The accordion part was challenging because it was both not tonal and there were many complex meter changes. Only 2 rehearsals were given and I received the music just one week before. Moreover, much of the piece was very “floaty” where it was quite difficult to feel any rhythm, hence there was little to no rhythmic frame of reference. This was coupled by, of course, the fact that conductors in classical music beat 1/2 to 3/4 of a beat ahead of where the actual best is. Haha!”

Cory Pesaturo is a winner of interational competitions and also, a accordion graduate of the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. In 2017, Pesaturo became a Guinness World Record Holder, as RedBull® flew him to Austria to break the Marathon Accordion Record, in which Cory played for 32 Hours & 14 Minutes. CPez has also presented 2 Google Talks, an EG Talk, and has spoken at other conferences on the accordion.

Cory Pesaturo was the featured accordionist in the “Weird Al Movie.” You can see his name in the credits. As of now Cory has presented 5 fascinating TED talks.

Cory recently performed for the prestigious William H. Gile Trust Concert Series in a 5 piece band playing an eclectic program ranging from Indian to Peruvian to pop music, keyboard , saxophone, violin, drums, and singer. The concert was held at Chubb Theatre in Concord, NH.

The William H. Gile Trust was created by Helen B. Gile in 1952. She left a legacy of more than $700,000 to finance a free concert series in Concord, New Hampshire in memory of her father, William H. Gile. Helen Gile stipulated that the trust funds were to be managed by what is now Citizens Bank, and that the selection of shows “of the highest type in all respects” was to be made by a committee of three local citizens.After much planning, the first William H. Gile Concert Series was held during the 1960-61 show season, and, over 60 years later, the Capitol Center for the Arts our home. The Selection Committee strives to present a diverse offering of performance types, to include some shows that are suitable for children, and to expose the community to performances that they might otherwise not have a chance to see.

For further information: cory@@corypesaturo.com