“ THE THIRD REICH SILENCED AN ENTIRE MUSICAL HERITAGE : AN UNINTERRUPTED LINE OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY GENIUSES ...”
“ This is less to do with finding the music that has been lost and much more to do with performing music that has been there all along ,” said Conlon . “ And I mean committed performances that come out of the heart and the passion of the music maker . This is not tokenism ; this is not tipping of a hat . The type of performances that are necessary to bring this music back into the repertory are the same type of performances that maintain the music of Bach , Brahms , and Mozart .”
Conlon has evolved this mission at the LA Opera , where he has served as Music Director since 2006 , and founded the program Recovered Voices , performing full-scale productions of operas by composers whose works were branded as “ Entartete Musik .” In 2013 , he established the Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices at the Colburn School in downtown LA , with adult-learning and conservatory-level courses , competitions , symposia , performances , recordings , and social events dedicated to a vast array of instrumental and vocal music .
AN EVOLUTION WITH THE BSO
In his three-year appointment as Artistic Advisor , Conlon brings many innovative projects and ideas — including Recovered Voices — to the BSO . Just the start of the BSO ’ s journey in this mission , the BSO ’ s 2021-22 Season of Discovery features three works by composers whose lives and productivity were cut short or radically altered by the Nazi regime : Walter Braunfels , Franz Shreker , and the composer who sparked Conlon ’ s interest nearly 30 years ago , Alexander Zemlinsky .
In a poignant expansion , and in keeping with the BSO ’ s own institutional commitments to sharing a more diverse range of voices , Conlon is also looking to his time in Baltimore to disseminate the names and perform the music of American composers neglected in our country ’ s history for their race .
“ Great art has the power to overcome the most unjust and cruel moments in our history ,” said Conlon . “ Whether neglected due to political suppression or because of their race , we have an opportunity and a moral obligation to undo this injustice . Of course , the composers cannot be given back either their lives or their world . But we who are here today can do what I think would mean the most to them , and that is to make their music heard .”
“ GREAT ART HAS THE POWER TO OVERCOME THE MOST UNJUST AND CRUEL MOMENTS IN OUR HISTORY ... WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY AND A MORAL OBLIGATION TO UNDO THIS INJUSTICE .”
SUGGESTED LISTENING BY JAMES CONLON :
VIKTOR ULLMANN String Quartet No . 3 , op . 46 Bennewitz Quartet
ERWIN SCHULHOFF 5 Études de jazz Eldar Nebolsin
ALEXANDER ZEMLINSKY Die Seejungfrau Riccardo Chailly and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
KURT WEILL Suite for Wind Orchestra From The Threepenny Opera David Atherton and London Sinfonietta
ERICH WOLFGANG KORNGOLD String Sextet in D Major , op . 10 Sinfonia of London Chamber Ensemble
ARNOLD SCHOENBERG A Survivor from Warsaw , op . 46 Robert Craft and Philharmonia Orchestra
RECOVERED VOICES WITH THE BSO
Recovered Voices James Conlon , conductor DAWSON Negro Folk Symphony ZEMLINSKY Die Seejungfrau ( The Mermaid )
October 1 , 2021 at 8 pm – Meyerhoff October 2 , 2021 at 8 pm – Strathmore Conducted by Conlon for his BSO debut is Alexander Zemlinsky ’ s Die Seejungfrau ( The Mermaid ), a lyrical symphonic poem based on the tale by Hans Christian Anderson . Born in 1871 , with 2021 marking 150 years since the composer ’ s birth , Zemlinksy ’ s music was beloved throughout Europe , finding a great admirer in Brahms . But , in 1938 , Zemlinsky became part of the group of composers who emigrated to the U . S . — though he never saw the same success in the States as contemporaries such as Schoenberg .
Paired with Zemlinsky ’ s Die Seejungfrau is William Dawson ’ s Negro Folk Symphony , a piece that was performed to great acclaim with its premiere at Carnegie Hall in 1934 . For a success this scale , a composer could have become a household name , but instead , Dawson ’ s symphony was largely forgotten . Full program notes can be found on page 21 .
Ray Chen Performs Sibelius Violin Concerto Kevin John Edusei , conductor Ray Chen , violin BRAUNFELS Symphonic Variations on an Old French Children ' s Song SIBELIUS Violin Concerto SCHREKER Chamber Symphony RAVEL La valse
March 3 , 2022 at 8 pm – Meyerhoff March 5 , 2022 at 8 pm – Strathmore March 6 , 2022 at 3 pm – Meyerhoff The German composer Walter Braunfels prospered early in his career with his opera Die Vögel . He became the first director of the Cologne Academy of Music , but , with the rise of the Nazi regime , was dismissed in 1933 . His Symphonic Variations on an Old French Children ’ s Song , which the BSO performs with Kevin John Edusei , was written in 1909 and banned in 1933 .
Also under the baton of Edusei is Franz Schreker ’ s Chamber Symphony . The piece was composed in 1916 to celebrate the centenary of the Vienna Music Academy , where Schreker began to teach shortly after his breakthrough to fame : Der ferne Klang . In 1932 , he was forced to leave his teaching positions and was soon forgotten
Kevin John Edusei .
Marco Borggreve
SEP-OCT 2021 / OVERTURE 11