Overture Jan/Feb 2022 | Page 35

PROGRAM NOTES

ELLINGTON AND GERSHWIN

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Ken-David Masur
Aaron Diehl
Hailed as “ fearless , bold , and a life-force ” by the San Diego Union-Tribune , Ken-David Masur is concluding his second season as Music Director of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra .
Masur has conducted orchestras around the world , including the Boston Symphony Orchestra , Los Angeles Philharmonic , the Chicago and Detroit symphonies , Orchestre National de France , Yomiuri Nippon Symphony in Tokyo , Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse , and the National Philharmonic of Russia .
Masur previously served as Associate Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra , Principal Guest Conductor of the Munich Symphony , Associate Conductor of the San Diego Symphony , and Resident Conductor of the San Antonio Symphony .
He has conducted and commissioned dozens of new works , many of which have premiered at the Chelsea Music Festival , a music festival founded and directed by Masur and his wife Melinda Lee Masur . Praised by The New York Times as a “ gem of a series ,” the Festival seeks to engage curious audiences with its ground-breaking collaborations between the performing , visual , and culinary arts .
In Chicago , Ken-David Masur was recently named Principal Conductor of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago , the professional training orchestra of the Chicago Symphony and the Negaunee Music Institute .
Pianist and composer Aaron Diehl mystifies listeners with his layered artistry . His expression transforms the piano into an orchestral vessel in the spirit of beloved predecessors Ahmad Jamal , Erroll Garner , and Jelly Roll Morton . Following three critically acclaimed leader albums on Mack Avenue Records and live appearances at historic venues from Jazz at Lincoln Center to The Village Vanguard , the American Pianist Association ’ s 2011 Cole Porter Fellow now focuses his attention on what it means to be present within himself . His forthcoming solo record promises an expansion of that exploration in a setting at once unbound and intimate .
Diehl traveled to New York in 2003 , following his success as a finalist in JALC ’ s Essentially Ellington competition and a subsequent European tour with Wynton Marsalis . Other artistic associations include Benny Golson , Jimmy Heath , Buster Williams , Branford Marsalis , Wycliffe Gordon , Philip Glass , and Cecile McLorin Salvant .
A licensed pilot , when Diehl ’ s not at the studio or on the road , he ’ s likely in the air .
Ken-David Masur
Aaron Diehl
Experience the
Performance Again A livestream of this performance is available for a limited time .
A BSO Sessions episode , featuring an interview with Ken-David Masur , will be released on February 22 and will be available through the 2021 – 22 season .
Adam DeTour
Maria Jarzyna
FROM THE PODIUM
by Ken-David Masur
The pieces on this program share a deep level of humanity , coming from authentic and sincere voices . I see very close relationships among Brahms , Gershwin , and Ellington because they were each trying new things from the piano , in such different ways , but with the conviction that music can speak the emotion of the human psyche . In the music that Duke Ellington wrote in 1943 , during the raging of the Second World War , the pianist is a protagonist trying to fight against these powers that seem overwhelming . This piece is filled with hope for us to be able to live together as a human race , to be able to respect and love one another , and it is just as important to hear it now as when Ellington wrote it . That same year , Grażyna Bacewicz wrote her Overture in Warsaw , and it is so driven and full of forward motion . The music says , “ Don ’ t wait ! Go ahead , take risks , move forward !” Her overture is like a spark coming at a time when people would not know how to light fire .
Brahms wrote pieces that can bring an extraordinary feeling of joy and calm . His output of orchestral music is dwarfed by his music for the voice , and we see in his symphonies — especially this one — the way the melodies are these long , soaring lines . Growing up singing helped me appreciate how Brahms comes from the breath . He wrote the Second Symphony in an area in southern Austria that I remember well from one of my own happiest summer getaways with my family . Later on , as I would conduct the piece , it made complete sense to me . He wrote the kinds of melodies that would come out of a child spontaneously in the happiest of moments ! It is so freeing .
JAN-FEB 2022 / OVERTURE 33