Poetry Reciter Update

Isaiah Stowers is quite a dynamic individual, and he will bring an engaging and dramatic dimension to our Classics V program as our reciter for Sensemayá. I just had a great meeting with him, and he has become quite captivated with the whole concept of the poem. What an enhancement to our season finale!

Marvelous Ride: Symphony Super-Charged

How many people remember The Competition, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Amy Irving? Near the end of the movie, a piano string breaks in the middle of a Mozart concerto, and Irving’s character walks offstage and insists on substituting a piece that will ultimately propel her to victory: Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto. That’s the piece that our guest artist—Van Cliburn winner Antonio Pompa-Baldi—is going to wow us with. It certainly features dazzling virtuoso pyrotechnics, and also lovely lyrical melodies—showing Prokofiev’s romantic side. This concert marks Pompa-Baldi’s first appearance in Stockton, and we are so excited about having this world-class talent on our stage!

Like the Prokofiev, the outer works of our program take us through a compelling and adventuresome range of expression. How often do you hear a symphonic piece inspired by a chant about killing a snake? In seven short minutes, Sensemayá, by Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas, charges ahead with vital rhythmic energy—and it begins with a tuba solo, no less! Plus, to kick off the evening, a member of With Our Words will recite the poem that inspired this work, which has now become a 20^th-century classic.

The Stockton Chorale joins us for our grand season finale: Ravel’s Suites from Daphnis and Chloé. The complete original didn’t fare too well as a ballet, but Ravel’s music has earned a permanent revered place on the concert stage. Inspired by a love story involving rescuing the heroine from pirates, Ravel’s music offers sumptuous orchestration and revs up to a joyful tumultuous conclusion. The work includes one of the most gorgeous sunrises ever depicted in music, and also offers some passages of special effects that continue to evoke wonder to this day. The percussion battery includes passages for a wind machine, and the chorus sings without any words—their “oohs” and “ahs” function alternately as the allure of sirens, the menace of pirates, or at the end, to enhance the simply irresistible energy and celebration of life. Chorale Music Director Megan Solomon invited me to make a house call recently. The singers and I had a great time getting into those “oohs” and “ahs”—making sure they sound like they’re in French. ☺

What a marvelous year we’ve been having artistically—we really look forward to having you join us for our Classics season finale!

Uzu & Muzu Becoming Reality—the Peter and the Wolf of the 21st Century?

When does a dream project turn into reality? It’s hard to define a precise moment—different aspects occur at different times. I visited world-renowned composer Avner Dorman for the first time over a year and a half ago—hoping he’d write the Stockton Symphony a premiere, and hearing him express his long wish to set Ephraim’s marvelous children’s story, Uzu and Muzu from Kakaruzu, to music. After the big team effort of getting a Music Alive residency to assist in the funding, it seemed to get more real.

We engaged Webster Williams to be our narrator, remembering how wonderful he is as an actor and what a fabulous job he did in Chris Brubeck’s Mark Twain’s World. And Avner said it would be great if the two percussion soloists could come from within the orchestra, demonstrating that eventually many orchestras could perform the piece after our world premiere—it only took a heartbeat to engage the talents of our own Mike Downing and Graham Thompson. The key components were lined up, and we strategized to use Uzu & Muzu for our Steppin’ Out youth programs as well as our Classics IV performances. Projects were planned for kids to write prose based on the theme of conflict and resolution for the Stockton Record newspaper and art works to be exhibited at the Haggin Museum—now the pieces had really starting falling in place.

But it was still all based on music that didn’t exist yet—or did it, just in Avner’s mind but not yet codified? During the next months I could tell, from our many great conversations, that Avner had immersed himself into that type of super-intense—perhaps even frenzied—work that is the hallmark of genius composers. Then, when he was nearing the end of the initial composition process this past fall, a small group of Symphony supporters were treated to something that couldn’t have occurred in Beethoven’s day. Avner played us sketches of his music from his computer software, using a MIDI system that very closely approximates the sounds of orchestral instruments. Back in the 19th century the great composers would sometimes try their symphonies out in piano transcriptions—they would have killed to have toys like this! For those of us at that intimate gathering, all of a sudden the piece became a lot more real. Avner made similar presentations in several school visits, and hundreds of kids were equally mesmerized.

Then, just a while ago, after an involved process of editing and proofing, the actual sheet music showed up on the Stockton Symphony’s doorstep. Now this thing is actually in print, and even the printing is gorgeous—Avner is one of few composers who is exclusively represented by G. Schirmer, one of today’s leading music publishers.

But even though it’s in print, it still has yet to exist in live performance. I’ve gotten together with Webster and we’ve planned someof our strategy for the narration. The percussionists have been getting together, and I’m going to join them soon. Then we go into orchestra rehearsals next week. I can hear the piece in my head and it’s fabulous—it may even become the Peter and the Wolf of the 21st Century. When will it reach the final phase of becoming real? At the performances—when you come to experience the launch!

Ain’t Just Kiddin’ on the Keys

The accordion evokes a wonderful nostalgia for me. It takes me back to my undergrad years at the Oberlin Conservatory (where I met my wife!). I had the good fortune of befriending Michael Pisani, who later became assistant conductor of the Houston Grand Opera. Michael was a super accordionist—he played his own arrangement of Mozart’s Figaro Overture at breakneck speed, or the last movement of Brahms’s Violin Concerto, covering the orchestra and the soloist parts on his accordion.

We were poor music students, and Michael and I were lucky enough to land a strolling restaurant job at the Oberlin Inn. While people were eating their roast beef or pasta dinners, Michael and I would serenade them, he on the accordion and myself on the violin. We played our own arrangements of Strauss waltzes, some Kreisler showpieces (imagine the Praeludium and Allegro with those opening chords on the accordion—it’s fantastic!), and even popular stuff—the movie Young Frankenstein had just come out, and the music was great for that kind of swooning crooning stuff that one expects in strolling dining territory.

Of course, the accordion has had its fair (or unfair!) share of jokes leveled at it. “I’ve always wanted to play the accordion badly, and now I do,” or “Play the accordion and go to jail—that’s the law.” But we must take these in stride, and put ’em next to all those viola jokes, drummer jokes, singer jokes, and yes, conductor jokes.

Fast forwarding to the present, I am simply awed by our guest soloist this week. Peter Soave is a true virtuoso—the National Accordion Association calls him “The Great One.” He has mastered Max Simončič’s Accordion Concerto. It’s an exciting world premiere—a novel addition to the repertoire.

And here’s the thing: Peter’s accordion doesn’t have any piano keys, both sides are entirely button-operated. It’s fascinating to watch, and to listen to. Peter really isn’t just kiddin’ on the keys!

Passion at Any Age

We know it can be harder to pick up a second language when we’re older, or more difficult to learn how to ride a bike as an adult than as a kid, right? In the same way, the older we get, the more effort and courage it takes to tackle a musical instrument for the first time—which is why I admire the high school kids at Weston Ranch High School who play in their orchestra, led by music teacher Joe Barron. Many of these students—even some seniors—are just beginning to experience the joys and challenges of playing string instruments for the first time. I just visited them today, and was impressed by their enthusiasm and passion, their dedication, and their ability to focus—and a lot of that inspiration comes from Joe, who is tireless in his spirit for promoting the great things music ensembles can do for us.

The experience took me back to when I played violin in a school orchestra for the first time. I was nine, in Berkeley in the 1960s. Our elementary school had an orchestra, and this was a true symphony, not just a string ensemble. We had winds, brass, and percussion along with a healthy string section.

Back then, California used to rank at the very top of our nation in terms of per-capita spending for the arts and for education in general. Now we’re practically at the bottom. Many school systems are no longer offering musical ensembles at the elementary school level, and recent cuts have taken a severe toll on middle school programs as well. Which is where Joe and his school come in. We need music in our curriculum; it’s not just a frill. Joe knows that, and the kids know it, too, so they sign up for orchestra, relishing the musical pursuit, even at the entry level. ’Way to go, Weston Ranch—thanks for keeping it going!

Musical Radar

When we’re lucky, it just clicks. We’re so used to the idea of “no pain, no gain” that we’re amazed by those few occasions when we can achieve something wonderful with a minimum of effort—it does happen just once in a while! That’s the way it was working with our recent piano soloist, Martina Filjak, playing beautiful performances of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G. She just makes it happen, and it was so easy to perform with her.

One of the many fascinating parts of my job is getting to work with quite a few world-class soloists. Sometimes I’ve met and worked with these artists before, but just as often we’re meeting for the first time during a concert set—it’s about 50/50. In this case, I had never met Martina before last week—but it was certainly about time, we’ve been trying to book her with the Symphony for quite a while, and the schedules finally meshed.

Last Monday afternoon, Martina played through her concerto for me in Atherton Auditorium—just the two of us were in the hall. Listening to her, it was obvious right away by her sense of timing what a treasure these performances would be. We made just a couple of suggestions to each other, but she made this difficult work so easy—working in rehearsals and concerts with Martina was a breeze.

All great artists have a great feeling for rubato—when to stretch the tempo, when to push ahead, and so on. But even within that keen sense, there’s what I call musical radar. Some great artists play in such a way that when a stretch is about to happen, she/he telegraphs the ideas in advance. We’ve been so fortunate at the Stockton Symphony to be able to work with so many soloists who possess specifically that gift of creating poetry through musical time. When you’re working with a great artist like Martina, the radar is wonderful. You don’t even have to look at her, you can sense what’s coming. I sometimes think the nonverbal communication you get when collaborating with soloists and with an orchestra is the closest we can get to telepathy.

Vibrant Colors and Rhythms Open Symphony Season

’Hard to imagine, but in the early 1930s most of the U.S. had never seen nor heard some percussion instruments we now take for granted—bongos, maracas, claves (wood blocks), and the guiro (notched gourd played with stick). The fascinatin’ dance rhythms of Latin America were just beginning to take hold, and two iconic American composers contributed to that enthusiasm, each traveling south of the border and bringing back a musical souvenir. These inspirations bookend our season opener with the Stockton Symphony: George Gershwin’s catchy Cuban Overture, inspired by the rumba; and Aaron Copland’s vivacious El Salón México, incorporating folk melodies while evoking a dance hall in Mexico City.

This colorful program also explores the intriguing Gershwin-Ravel connection. French composer Maurice Ravel had traveled to New York in the late ’20s, becoming infected with a healthy dose of Gershwin’s current take on jazz. Likewise, Gershwin had traveled to Paris, getting acquainted with Ravel’s music on his home turf, and he began to orchestrate his American jazz elements with a bit of the French master’s sophistication.

Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G continues to show the composers’ mutual admiration, incorporating wonderful elements of jazz harmony and rhythm. Our fabulous soloist, visiting Stockton for the first time, is the international pianist sensation Martina Filjak, winner of the 2009 Cleveland Piano Competition. We’re all eagerly anticipating her performances of Ravel’s virtuoso vehicle, and you may want to check out her accomplishments in detail at http://www.martinafiljak.com/.

The second half of our program explores two very different facets of Aaron Copland. The Orchestral Variations, in the compact space of 12 or 13 minutes, shows a dramatic, powerful, brooding side of the composer that we don’t often get to hear. Rounding out the evening in rousing contrast is El Salón México described above, exhibiting the same exuberance of those familiar Copland “cowboy” ballets, like Rodeo.
What a great way to open the concert season—we look forward to having you join us!

Thursday, September 22, at 8:00 p.m., repeated on Saturday, September 24 at 6:00 p.m. at Atherton Auditorium on the campus of San Joaquin Delta College.

Purchase tickets at 209-951-0196 or visit our website by clicking on the link below.
stocktonsymphony.org