The Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra continues its 2002-03 masterworks series Saturday, Oct. 26, with a collection of American composers and mezzo-soprano soloist Stacy Eckert.
"Aaron Copland was at the center of American musical activity for almost the entire 20th century, and he stands boldly at the center of this concert," notes DSSO musical director Markand Thakar in promotions for the event.
Or, in another sense, Copland is the bookends for the concert. His "Suite from Billy the Kid" closes the event, and "Bump," by his protege Chris Rouse, opens it.
Thakar also notes connections between Copland and the other two composers featured -- Leonard Bernstein and Duke Ellington. Bernstein's "Symphony No. 1 'Jeremiah'" will be performed Saturday, as will Ellington's "Three Black Kings."
Rouse, a leading modern composer who has won a Pulitzer Prize in music and a Grammy Award, wrote "Bump" in 1985 for a commission by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Rouse says on his Web site that he chose to format the work as a "nightmare konga" although it is not technically a konga.
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"At times awe-inspiring and deeply beautiful, Rouse's music can be positively hair-raising, savage and brutal, but inevitably engaging," writes Timothy Jones in the DSSO program notes. That mirrors Rouse's take: He says the jazz influences and big band elements are somewhat secondary to the "harsher harmony" and "sinister mood."
Rouse, who in 2002 was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, is being performed for the first time by the DSSO. He is a professor of composition at Juilliard.
Ellington's "Three Black Kings," one of his last compositions, was a symphonic liturgical work that was unfinished at the time of his death in 1974 and finished by his son, Mercer, using his father's personal instructions. Ellington considered the work very important, and some critics believe it reflects the direction Ellington, always daring and innovative, was moving with his music at the end of his life. While his music has been performed in past pops concerts by the DSSO, Saturday's will be the first masterworks series performance of his music.
Jones' program notes have this to say of the piece: "'Three Black Kings' is but one example of Ellington's boundary-bending experiments, a merging of religion, jazz, symphony orchestra and contemporary politics."
Bernstein's "Jeremiah" symphony was written in 1942, "just prior to his rise to fame" as conductor of the New York Philharmonic, Jones notes. The piece is based on the Jewish scriptural book of Lamentations, attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, a lament over the fate of Jerusalem.
Bernstein is, of course, famous for his teaching and piano playing in addition to his conducting and composition. He also wrote popular music, including the musical "West Side Story." This is the first DSSO performance of any of Bernstein's symphonies.
Copland, who like Bernstein died in 1990, wrote three ballets, including the 1938 "Billy the Kid." All of them ("Rodeo" and "Appalachian Spring" are the other two) are commonly performed by orchestras across the country, although the DSSO has only performed portions of "Billy the Kid" in 1950 and 1968. Copland's work is widely known for its American themes, and "Billy the Kid" includes themes from folk songs in untraditional harmonies and rhythms. It is based on the story of the legendary Wild West outlaw Billy the Kid, aka William Bonney.
Eckert, a mezzo-soprano who will perform Bernstein's symphony, has done a variety of operatic work, including a performance at Carnegie Hall. She soloed in last year's DSSO performance of "The Messiah" to acclaim.
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"Markand's Grand Tour" stops off in America Saturday, Oct. 26, with the works of four major U.S. composers. The performance starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 733-7579 or through the DSSO Web site, http://www.dsso.com .
