Letter from the Conductor

Dear Rockford Symphony Family,

I am so thrilled to be in Rockford for this concert, as a Music Director Finalist. I often joke and compare the process of choosing a Music Director to blind dating, and due to Covid, our first date was postponed for quite a while! I am excited to finally be in Rockford and mark the beginning of 2022 with an exhilarating program. The first half of the program is a real fiesta of some of the most important Hispanic composers, Arturo Márquez of Mexico, and Joaquín Rodrigo of Spain. Although Márquez had a reputation for avant-garde music, the works which brought him worldwide reputation are his eight Danzónes for orchestra. The second one which we will perform today is probably his most performed piece and, in fact, it is one of the most frequently performed orchestral works by a contemporary Mexican composer. This work brilliantly explores the different moods of this dance, moving seamlessly from being seductive and melancholy, to rhythmically intoxicating in a wild salsapalooza. There is no better way to welcome the new year than with this fun piece! As a classical guitarist, I always think it is a special event when the classical guitar is featured in a symphonic program, and the famous Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo is full of exciting rhythms and luscious melodies that pair so well with Márquez’s Danzón. It is extremely rare for a composer who doesn’t play the instrument to write so well and so much for the guitar. What makes this even more incredible is that the composer was blind from age three. This concerto is not only the most important guitar concerto in the repertoire, but one of the most performed 20thcentury concerti. Rodrigo himself described the concerto as one that is “capturing the fragrance of magnolias, the singing of birds, and the gushing of fountains, in the gardens of Aranjuez.” The heart of the concerto is the beautiful second movement where the famous melody is introduced by the English horn and passed on to the guitar. This theme is basically a synonym of Spanish music and is often referred to as the unofficial anthem of Spain. It later became an inspiration to many composers, most notably the jazz composer Chick Corea. To me, Tchaikovsky is a composer who was in many ways similar to Márquez and Rodrigo, with his extraordinary ability to write the most beautiful melodies in classical music. The Fourth Symphony is a perfect example of these melodies, paired with extremely complex rhythms. They say that every composer after Beethoven wrote symphonies in his shadow, and Tchaikovsky is definitely one of them. The Fourth in many ways is a homage to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, for example – the opening rhythmic motive (which sounds similar to Beethoven’s famous fate motive), is used as a marker throughout the first movement, and then coming back in the last movement, in a very Beethovenian way. To me, though, just as in Beethoven, the symphony opens in a very dramatic manner, almost tragic, but ends in one of the most triumphant ways you can think of. It is absolutely heartwarming to see the amazing support you all have for your wonderful Rockford Symphony Orchestra. I am honored to take part in this exciting journey, and I know you are going to enjoy the program tonight! Musically yours, Yaniv Attar