Month: June 2023

James MacMillan’s Larghetto for Orchestra: Chorale and Plainchant

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In his “constant, restless search for new avenues of expression,” the eminent Scottish composer, Sir James MacMillan (b. 1959), embraces tradition. MacMillan, whose catalogue includes five symphonies, six operas, a handful of concerti, and numerous sacred choral works, cites Scottish folk music and “the timeless truths of Roman Catholicism” among his influences. His Larghetto for Orchestra transforms the orchestra into a series of choirs, with echoes of ancient plainchant and contemplative liturgical …

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Stephen Hough Plays Richard Rodgers: “March of the Siamese Children”

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During his seventeen year partnership with lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers did more than write memorable tunes. The team of Rodgers and Hammerstein was concerned with a new, more sophisticated kind of American theater in which music furthered the plot and revealed the character and setting. For weeks, before any writing took place, they would immerse themselves in the dramatic details of the play. Often, their works explored settings which Broadway …

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Schubert’s Third Symphony: Effortless Music from a Miraculous Year

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1815 has been called Franz Schubert’s “miracle year.” In those twelve months, while working as a full-time schoolteacher, the 18-year-old composer wrote more than 20,000 bars of music. Among other works, he completed two symphonies (Nos. 2 and 3), two masses, a string quartet, two piano sonatas, and 145 songs (including the famous Erlkönig). Schubert’s biweekly composition lessons with Antonio Salieri during this period remind us that, even for the most intuitive …

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Debussy’s “Les collines d’Anacapri”: A Sunny Mediterranean Postcard

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Claude Debussy’s twenty four Préludes for solo piano, composed between 1909 and 1913, are atmospheric snapshots. Each opens up an enticing new vista which draws us in with the immediacy and sensuality of the most vivid impressionistic painting.  Les collines d’Anacapri (“The Hills of Anacapri”), the fifth prelude from Book 1, was inspired by the Mediterranean scenery surrounding the town of Anacapri on the island of Capri. Debussy visited this location in the …

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Ravel’s “L’Heure Espagnole”: An Enchanting One-Act Comédie Musicale

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Maurice Ravel’s 1911 comic opera in one act, L’heure espagnole, is a hilariously enchanting farce. Its literal title, “The Spanish Hour,” can be more accurately translated as “Spanish Time,” or “How They Keep Time in Spain.” The libretto by Franc-Nohain is based on a 1904 play by the same author. Set in eighteenth century Spain, the plot of L’heure espagnole centers around Concepción, the restless and lusty wife of a preoccupied clockmaker …

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Jaakko Kuusisto’s Violin Concerto: Elina Vähälä, Lahti Symphony Orchestra

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Jaakko Kuusisto (1974-2022) was one of Finland’s most versatile musicians. As a violinist, he studied at Indiana University with Miriam Fried, made numerous recordings, and, in the 1990s, was a top prizewinner at the Sibelius and Nielsen competitions. After serving as concertmaster of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Kuusisto became active as a conductor. Perhaps he made his most enduring mark as a composer of approximately 40 pieces, which include operas, film scores, …

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Ives’ “Central Park in the Dark”: Sound Pictures of the Night

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In his program note for the brief and atmospheric 1906 tone poem, Central Park in the Dark, Charles Ives wrote, This piece purports to be a picture-in-sounds of the sounds of nature and of happenings that men would hear some thirty or so years ago (before the combustion engine and radio monopolized the earth and air), when sitting on a bench in Central Park on a hot summer night. Originally titled, A …

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