When composer Morton Gould was commissioned to do a work for the Pittsburgh Youth Orchestra two years ago, he started off the way he often does: by consulting his family.
His oldest son, Eric, a pediatrician, suggested that his father take his fascination with firefighters and turn it into a piece for young people. With the help of grandson Benjamin Gould, a college student who has been a volunteer firefigher in Great Neck, N.Y., Gould, 81, began his research."He took me to the Vigilant Company firehouse, and seeing him and his drills, I began to feel like a kid again," said Gould, who won a Pulitzer Prize this year. "Then my daughter Abby Gould Burton said, `What about a hosedown?' "
The orchestra of 82 musicians, who range in age from 11 to 22, recently performed the premiere of "Hosedown" in Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh. Before the concert, the streets were filled by a parade of fire engines, and an exhibition of equipment took place just outside the hall.
At the end of one movement, Gould said, "The orchestra went out of control and couldn't stop playing, so a team of real firefighters came on stage with a hose and doused the orchestra with light beams, not water. The fire chief then accused the conductor of being an arsonist and doused down the audience, too - with confetti."
Gould's family was in the audience, of course.