America’s 20th Century in Music at MSO

When commissioned by the eminent conductor WalterDamrosch for a new orchestral work for his New York Philharmonic, little didcomposer George Gershwin (1898-1937) know that he would produce one of the mostendearing and durable American symphonic works. Gershwin’s work, An Americanin Paris (1928), is a true tone-poem, inspired by extra-musicalconsiderations reflecting his firsthand impressions of the sights, sounds andmoods of Paris.“My purpose here is to portray the impression of an American visitor in Paris,” Gershwinexplained, “as he strolls about the city and listens to various street noisesand absorbs the French atmosphere.” The work clearly does so, including thefamous “homesickness blues” trumpet solo in the work’s soft center.

Eight years later, another American composer, AaronCopland (1900-90), sought to musically depict the atmosphere of a differentplace. In this case, it was Mexicoand Copland’s impressions of a “colorful dancehall in Mexico City.” As he explained, “It wasn’t somuch the music or the dances that attracted me as the spirit of the place.” Theresult of this immersion was Copland’s first popular success, El SalónMéxico, a gaudy musical souvenir consisting of varied Mexican dance motifsthat build to an exuberant finale.

Massachusettsnative John Adams (b. 1947) is best known for his operas Nixon in China(1987) and The Death of Klinghoffer (1991), but his particular brand ofminimalism extends further. In 2005 he completed his fifth opera, DoctorAtomic, which centers on the tribulations of J. Robert Oppenheimer andother individuals associated with the first atomic bomb test at Alamogordo, N.M.,in 1945. From this work Adams culled severalsymphonic episodes, creating his Doctor Atomic Symphony in 2007. As Adams describes it: “The symphony is cast in a sustained25-minute single-movement arch, not unlike the Sibelius Seventh Symphony, awork that has had an immense effect on my compositional thinking.”

Newest of all these works, however, is the ClarinetConcerto of pianist and composer Marc Neikrug (b. 1946), completed justlast year for Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra clarinetist Todd Levy.Neikrug, artistic director of the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, states thathe has “always been particularly attracted to the clarinet. It is one of thefew instruments with the range, versatility, depth of expression and power tobe a commanding solo voice.”

The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra under the baton ofGiancarlo Guerrero performs the aforementioned works at Uihlein Hall on March13. Adams’ Doctor Atomic Symphonyreceives its MSO premiere and Neikrug’s Clarinet Concerto its worldpremiere at this concert.

The Bel Canto Chorus presents the U.S. premiereof Missa Lorca by Italian choral composer and singer Corrado Margutti(b. 1974), a work based upon the Latin Mass and poetry of Spanish writerFederico Garcia Lorca (1898-1936). Other works on the concert include Psalm42: Sicut Cervus by Palestrina, Psalm 3: Jehova Quam Multi Sunt Coeliby Purcell, Missa Brevis by Britten and others.

This concert takes place at Milwaukee’s St. Joseph Center Chapel on March14.