The last leaf (2010, arr. 2026) by Chaya Czernowin - Performed Live by Don-Paul Kahl

The last leaf (2010, arr. 2026) Chaya Czernowin - ‪@chayaczernowin777‬ Performed Live by Don-Paul Kahl - ‪@donpaulkahl‬ Harvard University 50 Church Street Studios Media Production team David Sexton, audio engineer Ryland Bennett, video editor Performed on April 20, 2026 Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA https://www.donpaulkahl.com/ https://www.chayaczernowin.com/ Programme Note (written by Don-Paul Kahl): The last leaf was originally written for solo oboe, then reimagined for sopranino saxophone. In this new version, for soprano saxophone, Don-Paul has reimagined Chaya Czernowin's sound world once more. The title of the piece is taken from the short story “The last leaf” by O. Henry. O. Henry's "The last leaf" is about two young artists, Sue and Johnsy, who live together in Greenwich Village. When Johnsy becomes seriously ill with pneumonia, she falls into despair and believes that she will die when the last ivy leaf outside her window falls from the vine. Their elderly neighbor, Behrman, a struggling painter who has always dreamed of creating a masterpiece, secretly paints a realistic leaf on the wall during a storm after the real leaves have fallen. Seeing the “last leaf” still clinging to the vine gives Johnsy hope and the will to recover. In the end, it is revealed that Behrman sacrificed his own life in the storm to paint the leaf, making his final act a true masterpiece of love and selflessness. In Chaya’s musical reinterpretation of this short story, two distinct characters emerge. The first is fragile and delicate, as though a spider’s web has been lightly touched, sending subtle ripples that resonate across its entire surface. The second is strong and expansive, as if two mountains are singing long, sustained lines to one another across a vast distance. Throughout the piece, these characters gradually intertwine, slowly merging until they become almost impossible to distinguish from one another. In the end, one of them prevails, though I will leave it to you to decide which character remains at the close of the work.