SoNA
Symphony of Northwest Arkansas
The Great Unknown January 20, 2024 Walton Arts Center Paul Haas, conductor
Symphony No. 1 in One Movement, Op. 9 (1936, rev. 1942)
harmonies, and traditional structures.
Samuel Barber
conductor-composer Pierre Boulez’s dictat
b March 9, 1910 in West Chester, Pennsylvania
that musicians not riding the ultra-modernist
d January 23, 1981 in New York City, New York
bandwagon were “irrelevant.”
The critics weren’t always kind. Neither were the cerebral types who signed on to
Performers and audiences thought differently. Barber’s art songs were popular It must have been lonely to be Samuel
with singers and listeners alike, while many
Barber there for a while. Almost alone of
of his instrumental works were quickly
mid-twentieth-century American composers
elevated to bedrock repertory. Even if his
he eschewed the era’s prevailing bleak
massive 1966 opera Anthony and Cleopatra
modernism in favor of a rich musical
bombed, his earlier Vanessa scored a solid
language that emphasized melody, opulent
international hit. And he has been vindicated,
Barber’s music gets played, heard, studied,
Oceans to Cross (2023) World Premiere
discussed, and enjoyed. It was those
Aldo López-Gavilán
academic modernists who turned out to be
b 1979 in Cuba
and then some, by the judgment of posterity.
irrelevant. They don’t get played much.
See Program Change Insert
A presiding angel hovers over Barber’s onemovement Symphony No. 1: Finnish master
Music is in Aldo López-Gavilán’s DNA. He’s
Jean Sibelius, whose seventh symphony
the son of musicians who introduced him
compresses the traditional four movements
to the piano at age 4; by age 5 he had
into one. But if Sibelius carved his symphony
written his first composition. He started
from ice, Barber etched his with fire. Neither
winning competitions and receiving awards
atonal à la Boulez nor folksy à la Copland,
by the age of 11, and made his debut
the Barber First emits an aura of powerful
as a concerto soloist at the age of 12.
substance from its very first gestures—
That’s impressive enough, but it’s not all.
grandly-hewn materials that will wind up
His abilities range widely, from piano to
forming the basis of what follows. Throughout
composition, from classical to jazz. Nor
its tapestry of themes and statements, the
does he limit his composition to the concert
symphony creates a weave of deeply moving
hall; he has written for television and film
lyricism, heroic grandeur, and bristling
as well. He has worked with luminaries such
athleticism. It packs a tremendous amount
as Joshua Bell, the Harlem Quartet, the
of emotional energy into its twenty
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and his own
some-odd minutes.
brother, violinist Ilmar López-Gavilán.
We are blessed with a splendid premiere
Oceans to Cross reflects that remarkable
recording from 1945, brilliantly performed by
range. The Symphony of Northwest
the New York Philharmonic under legendary
Arkansas’s first commission, it’s a concert
conductor Bruno Walter, a rendition that
suite for piano and orchestra, in three
reflects Barber’s 1942 revisions to his
movements, each of which “reflects a
1936 original. Numerous performances and
unique aspect of the human experience,”
recordings, from orchestras far and wide,
López-Gavilán tells us. “The suite stands
have followed. (There’s even a recording from
as a testament to the unifying power of
Slovenia.) Barber gets played, after all.
music, transcending geographical and cultural coundaries.” The first movement “Oceans to Cross” blends African and Afro-Cuban influences. Opening with powerful statements in the solo piano, it soon sets off on an exploration of “hope and trepidation, encapsulating the emotions and experiences of crossing a vast ocean.” Turbulence contrasts with
introspection, exhilaration with inwardness,
no less than the Philadelphia Orchestra,
the whole ending in blazing excitement.
with Leopold Stokowski conducting, in Carnegie Hall. It knocked the audience’s
“Soul Journey” follows, a “spiritual odyssey
collective socks off. They even interrupted
through harsh deserts and remote locales,
it for a special round of applause after the
from the Middle East to Eastern Europe.
second movement. One of Stokowski’s four
It delves into the musical heritage of
performances was broadcast on CBS radio.
Jewish culture, tracing its evolution a
The critics fell all over themselves praising
across different geographies.” Its subdued,
the new work and its author. Such a triumph
intimate opening gives way gradually
should have catapulted its young composer,
to crackling rhythmic vitality and lyrical
up to then best known for his choral
effusion in orchestra and piano alike.
arrangements of spirituals, into Gershwin or Copland altitude.
Cuba takes center stage in “Conga,” which “revisits themes from the first movement,
But no. William Dawson’s spectacular
interweaving them with Cuban rhythms and
Negro Folk Symphony received a few more
melodies.” A brilliant, propulsive dance,
performances and then vanished into the
it emulates indigenous instruments as
bardo of forgotten works. It’s difficult at
it seeks to forge “a musical connection
this late date to analyze with any precision
between African and Cuban cultures,
just what went wrong, but certainly the
celebrating their shared vibrancy and rich
Depression had a lot to do with it. A properly
musical traditions.”
typeset edition was out of the question in those money-strapped days, so a few
Thus Oceans to Cross “highlights the
copies of the conductor’s score and a set
interconnectedness of diverse traditions,
of handwritten parts were all that were
showcasing how music can be a universal
available. (No photocopiers back then,
language that speaks of journeys, both
alas.) The performing materials being
physical and spiritual,” writes López-Gavilán.
more or less inaccessible, the symphony
“Each note echoes the shared history and
faded into obscurity, and Dawson never
collective spirit of humanity.”
wrote another one. Leopold Stokowski kept the flame flickering (barely) by recording Dawson’s revised version in 1963. Happily, re-ignited interest has brought about a
Negro Folk Symphony (1934, rev. 1952) William Dawson b September 26, 1899 in Anniston, Alabama
posthumous second act for this remarkable composition, with a flurry of performances complemented by at least five new recordings over the past two decades.
d May 2, 1990 in Montgomery, Alabama Intended to be “symbolic of the link uniting Africa and her rich heritage with her descendants in America,” as Dawson It should have made him a star. His new
explained in his own program notes, the
symphony was given its 1934 premiere by
three-movement symphony incorporates a
rich bounty of spirituals, but not as mere
the deeply moving central movement “Hope
quotations. Instead, Dawson examines,
in the Night” highlights the English horn in a
re-examines, and reworks his materials into
similar manner. Then comes the exhilarating
a vibrant tapestry. Each movement carries
and rhythmically complex “Oh, Le’ Me Shine,
its own evocative title. “The Bond of Africa”
Shine Like a Morning Star!” that brings the
makes spectacular use of a horn solo that
work to its joyous close.
helps to bind the materials together, while
Billie served as regional fundraising chair for the Walton Arts Center, joining forces with Helen R. Walton to secure funding to complete the performing and visual arts center. She was executive director of the North Arkansas Symphony Orchestra (today the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas), and
Billie Jo Gabriel Starr
served as board chair of the Walton Arts
b August 11, 1932
Center. She also served on the board of the
d April 9, 2023
Fayetteville Public Education Foundation and was one of the first inductees to its Hall
Billie was born in Ponca City, Okla., to Arthur
of Honor.
and Wilma Gabriel. She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Joe
Billie was the recipient of many honors,
Fred Starr.
including the Arkansas Arts Council Governor’s Arts Award for Lifetime
She was a devoted member of Central
Achievement in 2019; UofA Outstanding
United Methodist Church for more than 60
Alumnus for Community Service in 1994;
years, where she served for many years on
Community Service Award from the City of
the Board of Trustees and as chair of the
Fayetteville; and Arkansas Business Top
building committee. She was a graduate of
100 Women in Arkansas in 1996, among
Fayetteville High School and the University
others. She was also president of the Starr
of Arkansas, where she was a member of
Foundation, a family foundation dedicated
the Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority. After raising her
to enriching education and the arts in
four children with Joe Fred, Billie was very
Arkansas for more than 30 years.
active in community organizations. The Great Unknown is generously sponsored by the Starr Foundation in memory of Billie Starr.
Program notes by Scott Foglesong, copyright 2024 First North American Serial Rights Only
SoNA
Symphony of Northwest Arkansas
PROGRAM CHANGE Due to a family emergency of the featured soloist originally scheduled to perform the world premiere of Aldo López-Gavilán’s Oceans to Cross, that portion of this evening’s program has now been replaced with George Gershwin’s An American in Paris. SoNA is working to reschedule the world premiere of Oceans to Cross for a later date, likely as part of the 2024-25 Season to be announced later this year.
The Great Unknown January 20, 2024 Walton Arts Center Paul Haas, conductor
An American in Paris (1928) George Gershwin b September 26, 1898 in New York City, NY d July 11, 1937 in Los Angeles, CA
Highbrow pundits never quite knew what to do about George Gershwin. That such a more or less self-taught Broadway tunesmith presumed to write ambitious concert works was annoying
enough. That he was often boisterously successful with those same works was even more irritating. Some critics vented their umbrage via potshots at Gershwin’s perceived technical shortcomings. Others dismissed his works as mere passing fancies, such as the New York Evening Post’s Oscar Thompson, who allowed that while An American in Paris might be all the rage circa 1928, “to conceive of a symphony audience listening to it with any degree of pleasure or patience twenty
years from now, when whoopee is no longer even a word, is another matter.” Raised patrician pinkies notwithstanding, conductors knew a good thing when they heard it and snapped the piece up. The 1929 midwestern premiere was led by no less than Fritz Reiner, soon to be followed by such luminaries as Artur Rodzinski, Alfredo Casella, and erstwhile San Francisco Symphony maestro Henry Hadley. Even Arturo Toscanini— nobody’s choice as an advocate for American music—turned in a whipcrack rendition with the NBC Symphony. The first studio recording, with Nathaniel Shilkret conducting the Victor Symphony and featuring an uncredited George Gershwin himself on celesta, took place on February 4, 1929, less than two months after the New York premiere. Umpteen performances and recordings later, An American in Paris dances blithely towards its centennial, bedrock repertory, familiar and loved the world over. Far
more than a mere Jazz Age travelogue, this quintessentially American symphonic poem unfolds with radiant vitality and intoxicating energy. An American in Paris eschews formal symphonic development in favor of a loose episodic structure charting the adventures of an American tourist sampling the glories of Paris and succumbing to fits of homesickness along the way. The work’s most compelling features are its marvelous melodies—who isn’t enchanted by the central “blues” section with its wailing trumpet solo?—and its glittering orchestration, featuring that quacking quartet of Parisian taxi horns. “It’s not a Beethoven symphony, you know,” commented Gershwin, perhaps in reaction to elitist reservations about the work’s overriding joie de vivre. “If it pleases symphony audiences as a light, jolly piece, a series of impressions musically expressed, it succeeds.”
In addition to the musicians listed in the main program roster, the following musicians have been added:
SAXOPHONE Michael Hanna, alto Acting Principal Nick Suosso, tenor Sarah Hetrick, baritone