"We try to present works that have not yet been performed in Salt Lake, or at least that haven't been performed here in many years." That's how Joel Rosenberg, music director of the American West Symphony, describes one of his orchestra's goals.
To that end, he and the orchestra have been quite successful. Past performances, for example, have included concert versions of Giuseppe Verdi's "Nabucco" and George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess."
And coming up on Friday, March 10, at 7:30 p.m., Rosenberg and the American West Symphony will give a free concert in the Assembly Hall on Temple Square.
Two short works will open Friday's concert — Mozart's Symphony No. 5 and Vivaldi's Concerto for Viola and Guitar in D minor. Rosenberg will be the viola soloist for the Vivaldi, and he'll be joined by guitarist Todd Woodbury.
Speaking with the Deseret News, Rosenberg explained that the Vivaldi concerto was originally written for viola d'amore and lute, but "I transcribed the viola d'amore part for viola, and it works well, except that the viola has to play in a higher register than usual," owing to the higher range of the original instrument. Together with Woodbury, Rosenberg premiered this new version of the concerto at last December's "Viva Vivaldi!" concert.
However, the evening's featured work will be a rare complete performance of Igor Stravinsky's ballet, "Petrouchka."
Rosenberg notes that this will be the first time in recent years that the complete ballet version of the score has been played in Salt Lake City.
"I chose 'Petrouchka' because it tells a wonderful story," Rosenberg said. "The story revolves around two worlds. There is the real world of people, and there is the unreal world of the puppets which come to life and feel real emotions. And these two worlds become one and the same, and the question is, what is real and unreal."
Rosenberg goes on to explain that "Petrouchka" is based on a Russian legend and that the story is rather complex and filled with so many characters that it can be a little difficult to follow along just by hearing the music. And so Rosenberg plans to explain the story as the piece unfolds.
"The work is made up of four tableaux, and I hope to tell the story prior to playing each tableau," he said. "There are also so many characters in the story, and each has its own musical motif. I want to illustrate the characters in the orchestra, and that, I think, will help people understand the music better.
"This is going to be one of our more ambitious concerts, although 'Nabucco' and 'Porgy and Bess' were ambitious, too. But with Stravinsky, you really have to be on your toes."
Because of all the puppets and dolls in "Petrouchka," Rosenberg feels that the music would have some appeal to children. And getting youngsters to come to classical concerts and enjoying the music is something that's very close to Rosenberg's heart. In fact, two of the American West Symphony's concerts each year are directed toward children. These concerts take place in March and October at the orchestra's other venue, the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Sandy.
"One other reason that I chose 'Petrouchka,' " Rosenberg explains, "is because the story behind the music is close to children and young people. Stravinsky once said that music is best understood and appreciated by children. I don't know if that's the case, but it certainly applies to 'Petrouchka.' "