jmc's classics
I attended the SLSO concert on November 17. It was somewhat unique because it featured all American composers. Aaron Copeland(1900-1990), Samuel Barber (1910-1981) and Christoper Rouse born 1949 who is still alive. It featured Barber's Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance (Opus #23a), Rousee's Bassoon concerto which was at its world premier and Copelands' iconic third symphony. The conductor was Cristian Macelaru who is from Romania. The soloist was Andrew Cuneo Principal Bassoon Player with the SLSO.
Barber's most famous work was his Adagio for Strings which is taken from his only String Quartet. It was played at the announcements of the death of Franklin Roosevelt and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. This is taken from a ballet based on an ancient Greek story media by Euripides. It was commissioned by American Choreographer Martha Graham. The Bassoon concerto was premiered this weekend. The most famous Bassoon concerto is that by Mozart (K.191) it is in three Movements. The bassoon is a woodwind instrument and has the lowest octave and has a bass sound. There are not very many concerti for this instrument. Cueno has described the bassoon as a ''character actor in the orchestra. The bassoon and orchestra work together in harmony. Many concerti can be the solo instrument against the orchestra. Rouse has written concerti for other instruments and six symphonies. I enjoyed this piece. Copelands Third symphony was the most famous piece. He was born in Brooklyn to Jewish parents. He was Blacklisted in the 50's during the Red Scare but this did not hurt his works. The Third Symphony was commissioned by Russian born conductor Serge Koussevitsky (1874-1951) who was the conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. it was commissioned in 1944 and premiered in 1946. It has American themes. The third movement has themes from his Fanfare for the Common Man which is Copeland most famous work. I do not own and CDs of these works so I can not recommend any. I am not even sure if there has been a CD made of the Rouse work. I have a CD of His Cello concerto with Yoyo Ma. it is from 1997 with David Zinmann and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
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