In Monday’s (10/18) Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee), Jon W. Sparks writes, “Not all events are both historic and remarkable, but the Memphis Symphony Orchestra pulled off a concert over the weekend that achieved both. The historic aspect was the world premiere of a commissioned work by Osvaldo Golijov, one of the world’s most highly regarded composers. ‘Sidereus’ was commissioned by a consortium of orchestras to honor Henry Fogel, whose career in orchestra management has had a national impact.” The idea of commissioning a piece to honor Fogel, president and CEO of the League of American Orchestras from 2003 to 2008, originated with the League board, and a sizable gift from the board was directed to the consortium. “The piece will be performed by the 35 participating orchestras as well as others, but the MSO is the first to take it on. In fact, it just arrived last Tuesday and the orchestra began rehearsing Wednesday. Maestro Mei-Ann Chen was joined by the composer on Thursday and hammered out the version that was performed Saturday night at The Cannon Center for the Performing Arts … The concert opened with Copland’s rousing and enduring ‘Fanfare for the Common Man’ that set the stage for a gorgeous performance of Samuel Barber’s ‘Knoxville: Summer of 1915.’ … After intermission, the orchestra performed Golijov’s ‘Rumba Mariana’ from his 2003 opera ‘Ainadamar.’ ”
Posted October 19, 2010
