PROGRAM NOTES by Pam Davis, Assistant Concertmaster
Gabriela Lena Frank (born 1972) Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout: VI. Coqueteos (2001)
Born in Berkeley, California, and holding degrees from Rice and University of Michigan, composer and pianist Gabriella Lena Frank expresses her Peruvian-Jewish heritage in her compositions. Composer-in-residence with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Dr. Frank utilizes western classical forms, but integrates South American folk music, poetry, art, and mythology in her music. She stated that this mix is inspired by the idea of mestizaje as envisioned by the Peruvian writer Jose María Arguedas, wherein cultures co-exist without the subjugation of one by the other. Originally written for string quartet and arranged for string orchestra two years later, Frank describes this movement: “‘Coqueteos’ is a flirtatious love song sung by men known as romanceros and is direct in its harmonic expression, bold, and festive. The romanceros sang in harmony with one another against a backdrop of guitars, which I think of as a vendaval de guitarras (storm of guitars).” e WORLD EVENTS: First draft of the Human Genome Sequence released, George Harrison dies, 9/11 attacks e FIRST PERFORMANCE: 2001, the Chiara Quartet e MOST RECENT SSO PERFORMANCE: Tonight is the SSO premiere
William Grant Still (1895 -1978) Three Visions: II. Summerland (1935)
Originally from Mississippi, raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, William Grant Still was influenced by his stepfather’s extensive record collection. Although Still intended to study medicine, his love of music overtook that plan at Wilberforce and Oberlin. After working for W.C. Handy in Memphis and accompanying him to New York, he studied composition with avant-garde composer Edgar Varese. But Still’s personal compositional style blended African American idioms with European style and forms. Still benefited from grants and awards and by writing jazz arrangements for Artie Shaw and others until he could afford to move to California. He was the first African American to conduct a major American orchestra, leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic in two of his works in 1936. He was also the first African American to have an opera performed by a major opera company. Summerland is the second movement of his Three Visions. Originally written for solo piano for his wife Verna Arvey, it has been arranged for various instruments and combinations and is an atmospheric elegy with hints of the blues and of Debussy. Still asks listeners to be aware that the visions are real only to the dreamer in this musical portrait of the afterlife. The surrounding movements are entitled Dark Horseman and Radiant Pinnacle. e WORLD EVENTS: Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie published, board game Monopoly patented, Elvis Presley born e FIRST PERFORMANCE: 1936, solo pianist, Verna Arvey e MOST RECENT SSO PERFORMANCE: Tonight is the SSO premiere 48
