“On March 11 and 12, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra will present [Missy] Mazzoli’s violin concerto—‘Violin Concerto (Procession)’—a co-commission with the National Symphony Orchestra, performed by Mazzoli’s frequent collaborator Jennifer Koh,” writes Anne Arenstein in Tuesday’s (2/22) CityBeat (Cincinnati). “ ‘This is the first orchestral piece I’ve written with the violin specifically in mind,’ Mazzoli tells CityBeat, although she has several works for solo violin, including a commissioned fanfare for CSO concertmaster Stefani Matsuo. Mazzoli’s concerto is also the latest in a series of collaborations with Koh [including] most recently … ‘Hail, Horrors, Hail,’ commissioned by the ARCO Group—Koh’s Classical music inclusivity nonprofit—as a response to COVID-19 isolation, as well as the 2020 ‘Alone Together’ series. A violin concerto seemed like the obvious next step, but Mazzoli says the composition evolved over years…. Attendees shouldn’t expect to hear a conventional concerto…. The opening movement, ‘Procession in a Spiral,’ has the soloist taking the spiral to an extreme, Mazzoli says…. The second movement is inspired by the neurological condition known as St. Vitus’ dance, in which the sufferer’s muscle groups move irregularly or involuntarily…. The concerto concludes with another procession, this time ascending ‘into heaven or infinity,’ she says.”
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