New works are the life blood of music. And with the shoulders of giants to stand on, and an open horizon ahead, there has never been a better time to add to the canon of classical music, which is something Salt Lake Symphony conductor James Michael Caswell understands.
"It looks like we're starting a series," he told the Deseret News, "featuring a commissioned world premiere by a Utah composer. We've got some great composers here."
It started last year with Marie Barker Nelson's "Symphony of the Millennium" and will continue next year with a piece by Henry Wolking. This year spotlights a flute concerto by Jeff Manookian.
The Salt Lake Symphony will open its 26th season with the world premier of Manookian's Concerto for Flute and Orchestra at Abravanel Hall on Friday, Oct. 5, at 7:30 p.m. Tchaikovsky's overture to "Romeo and Juliet" and Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" will also be on the program. Tickets are available through ArtTix for $12, or at the door the night of the concert for $15.
Caswell admitted that playing new works is a challenge. "We're used to playing pieces that have already been played over and over and over again, but we're embarking on a new thing. . . . To come to accept new music is one thing, but to premier a new work, especially by someone that we know, is a tremendously humanizing experience."
Manookian's concerto is a beautiful work that is fresh and exciting, said Caswell. It's set in three movements, with the outer movements being fast and the middle being slow. "The first movement, like many traditional pieces, is in classical form — like symphonies, string quartets, and that sort of thing. It is very jovial, very spirited. It really has the feel of a serenade, or an intermezzo, but it moves fast.
"The second movement is the pastoral, nostalgic, easy-breathing piece — very, very sweet. It is simply in no hurry. I'm not even sure how long it lasts, it just goes, it just sings, in a very rhapsodic way.
"The last movement is just two tons of fun — boisterous, loud, lots and lots of notes. Everyone in the orchestra gets something to do. It doesn't have this feeling that it has to rip your soul in two . . . to be so loud, and so angry, and so pent-up, like a lot of music these days can be.
"It's a fun work. It's a beautiful work."
Appropriately, flautist Laurel Ann Maurer will be the featured soloist for the concerto. Caswell said that in addition to the fact that Maurer is a "flute player par excellence," she also dedicates her career to creating and performing contemporary music. "She is really committed to the progress of musicmaking," Caswell noted. "She plays everything, but she has a real understanding for 20th-century music, it's inner-workings, its voice, and its song. She understands the language of many, many composers and really works to get their music played."
A season opening gala will precede the concert at 6:00 p.m. in the First Tier Room at Abravanel Hall. Tickets cost $100. Call 463-2440 for more information.
E-mail: rcline@desnews.com