Pacific Symphony's "Illuminations" Reveals Inspiration Behind the Music
BUENA PARK, CA (January 5, 2006) — Since its birth in 1978, Pacific Symphony has become the third largest orchestra in California and a leader in Orange County’s vibrant performing arts community. The orchestra presents more than 80 concerts each year under music director Carl St.Clair, with Yamaha as a strong supporter (and the official piano of the summer series) for two decades. In March 2006, Pacific Symphony will embark on its first European tour and, next fall, will move into a new $200 million venue.
Two Yamaha CFIIIS grand and three Yamaha C7 conservatory grand pianos were onstage for Pacific Symphony’s American Composers Festival 2005, “Illuminations in Sound: John Adams and George Crumb in Quest of New Musical Worlds.” The festival, held this past spring at various Orange County venues, featured guest pianists Robert Thies and Gloria Cheng, among other artists. Programming ranged from chamber and orchestral concerts to educational symposia.
The festival was the second in a three-year exploration of the influences of non-European music on some of the most important 20th- and 21st-century American composers. Featured composers included Adams and Crumb (who attended and participated in concerts and seminars), Colin McPhee, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Percy Grainger, among others. Apropos of its title, “Illuminations” revealed much about the sensual, seductive and joyful influences of Gamelan, Raga, Balinese, West African and other non-Western music on American composers. Writer and cultural historian Joseph Horowitz, artistic advisor for the Festival since 2000, calls the featured composers “blithe explorers of music previously exotic or unknown.”
“We hear influences of these eastern musical styles every day and are not always aware of them,” says Pacific Symphony’s Vice President of Strategic Planning and Special Projects, James Medvitz, “The Festival sensitized listeners.” With an emphasis on rhythms and timbre over complex harmonies, the hypnotic music of eastern countries has inspired western composers to create new, sophisticated musical styles.
“Because of the repertoire, at one point we had five Yamaha pianos onstage; one piece required four pianos,” Medvitz continues. “The pianists used the instruments to imitate the Gamelan sound, and we used two pianos and a lot of percussion in the Debussy and Ravel pieces, which were originally written for piano and later orchestrated by Percy Grainger. When using more than one piano, we wanted the same language, the same color; otherwise, it would have created a different kind of aural experience. Yamaha was critical to us in generously providing the pianos to help us accomplish this.”
“This was different, a lot of fun, as well as very challenging, stimulating and rewarding,” says Medvitz, “We’re breaking new ground, and Yamaha has been very supportive.”
The Spring 2006 American Composers Festival will celebrate the late Lou Harrison, with additional works by Henry Cowell and John Cage, and include the participation of a Javanese Gamelan. More information can be found at www.pacificsymphony.org.
For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622, telephone (714) 522-9011, or e-mail infostation@yamaha.com.
Pianist Gloria Cheng's inspired playing brought the music of George Crumb to life as part of the Symphony's annual Festival.
Photo credit: Robert Rooks
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The festival was the second in a three-year exploration of the influences of non-European music on some of the most important 20th- and 21st-century American composers. Featured composers included Adams and Crumb (who attended and participated in concerts and seminars), Colin McPhee, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Percy Grainger, among others. Apropos of its title, “Illuminations” revealed much about the sensual, seductive and joyful influences of Gamelan, Raga, Balinese, West African and other non-Western music on American composers. Writer and cultural historian Joseph Horowitz, artistic advisor for the Festival since 2000, calls the featured composers “blithe explorers of music previously exotic or unknown.”
“We hear influences of these eastern musical styles every day and are not always aware of them,” says Pacific Symphony’s Vice President of Strategic Planning and Special Projects, James Medvitz, “The Festival sensitized listeners.” With an emphasis on rhythms and timbre over complex harmonies, the hypnotic music of eastern countries has inspired western composers to create new, sophisticated musical styles.
“Because of the repertoire, at one point we had five Yamaha pianos onstage; one piece required four pianos,” Medvitz continues. “The pianists used the instruments to imitate the Gamelan sound, and we used two pianos and a lot of percussion in the Debussy and Ravel pieces, which were originally written for piano and later orchestrated by Percy Grainger. When using more than one piano, we wanted the same language, the same color; otherwise, it would have created a different kind of aural experience. Yamaha was critical to us in generously providing the pianos to help us accomplish this.”
“This was different, a lot of fun, as well as very challenging, stimulating and rewarding,” says Medvitz, “We’re breaking new ground, and Yamaha has been very supportive.”
The Spring 2006 American Composers Festival will celebrate the late Lou Harrison, with additional works by Henry Cowell and John Cage, and include the participation of a Javanese Gamelan. More information can be found at www.pacificsymphony.org.
For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622, telephone (714) 522-9011, or e-mail infostation@yamaha.com.
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