Sat 4/6 @ 7:30PM
Classical music presenters have upped their game in recent years in presenting new music, crossing genres and disciplines, and unearthing music by neglected composers. You can still hear your Beethoven and Mozart but orchestras are increasingly likely to through a surprise or two on a program.
Many are commissioning new music by contemporary composers, and that’s the case with a piece that will be performed this weekend by the Akron Symphony Orchestra. It was part of a group of a dozen orchestras who commissioned Bohemian Queen: Concerto for Trumpet and String Orchestra from 46-year-old Brazilian-American composer Clarice Assad, featuring rising classical trumpet star Mary Elizabeth Bowden. The three-movement concerto is based on paintings by Chicago-based surrealist painter Gertrude Abercrombie (1909-1977), nicknamed “the queen of the Bohemian artists” for her involvement with the city’s lively jazz scene. The first two movements, “Girl Searching” and “The Stroll” are based on two of her paintings, while the third, “Hyde Park Jam,” is a tribute to the scene she was part of. She also loved cats.
The program also features a variety of other pieces influenced by folk and popular music, including Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on “Greensleeves”; Jennifer Higdon’s Reel Time, inspired by Appalachian music; Jessie Montgomery’s Strum; Julia Perry’s Prelude for Strings; and Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence, reflecting on visits to Italy. With two Black, one South American and four women composers, that’s some impressive diversity.
The concert taks place at the University of Akron’s EJ Thomas Hall. Go here for tickets.
akronsymphony.org/event/tchaikovsky-bowden/
University of Akron, Akron, OH 44304