Zwilich Reigns in Hamilton

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (Florida State University Photo Lab)

Paul John Stanbery

Echoing the subtitle of Zwilich’s Symphony, “The Gardens,” there were plants in the foyer – exotic ones provided by the Turrell Herbavorium of Miami University (Oxford) and the Fitton Conservatory of Miami’s Hamilton campus.

phragmipedium caudatum (ladyslipper orchid)

 Zwilich, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1993 for her Symphony No. 1 (the first woman to do so), attended the concert, having been introduced to members of the community earlier in the day at a meet-the-composer event in Hamilton.  Gracious and charming, she spoke to the audience after the concert, accepted a proclamation from Hamilton Mayor Pat Moller – March 7 is “Ellen Taaffe Zwilich Day” in Hamilton --signed autographs and met guests at a post-concert reception.

In addition to Zwilich, who celebrates her 70^th birthday this season, there was a debut by pianist Kenneth Danielson, 2009-2010 winner of HFSO’s David L. Belew Young Artist Competition and -- good grief -- would you believe Peanuts?

The concert, without more, would have been an event, 10^th in the series of David L. Belew American Masters Concerts begun by the HFSO in 1999.  With headliner Zwilich, it was a feather in the cap of music director Stanbery, who snagged her with the aid of the National Endowment for the Arts.  Who says public funding of the arts only benefits elite arts organizations?

The all-Zwilich program included her 1993 Concerto for Horn and String Orchestra with HFSO principal hornist Todd Fitter.  It opened with her 1998 “Upbeat!” for orchestra, and the two works could not have been more different.   Where “Upbeat!” was just that, the Horn Concerto was a dark, even angry work reminiscent of Shostakovich.   “Upbeat!” a brief curtain raiser, was a kind of Bach meets Aaron Copland, a jazz-flavored invention that put everyone in a good mood.

Commissioned by the great American hornist David Jolley, the Horn Concerto makes considerable demands on the instrument (Zwilich has described it as a tone poem with the horn as the hero).   Fitter, who also performs with the Dayton and Clermont Philharmonics, the School House Symphony and numerous other ensembles throughout the region, soldiered valiantly in the Concerto, both technically and expressively, exhibiting a wide range of pitch and tone color (open, stopped and muted).  The HFSO strings were an effective partner though overall, the performance needed more rehearsal. (Also, program notes would have been a welcome addition to the otherwise very generous program provided by the HFSO for the concert.)

Danielson, a senior at Talawanda High School in Oxford, demonstrated considerable presence, even “cool,” in Zwilich’s “Peanuts.”  He worked hand-in-paw with Stanbery and the HFSO in “Snoopy Does the Samba,” a delightful Brazilian rumble with lots of vibrant drumming.  Zwilich's musical images are delightful, from “Schroeder’s Beethoven Fantasy,” where she incorporates motives from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and his piano concertos, to “Lucy Freaks Out,” a mild-mannered to meltdown episode with orchestral shrieks as well as calmer moments.

Zwilich’s Fourth Symphony received its second performance (ever) at this concert, not having been played since its 2000 premiere by ensembles of Michigan State University in honor of MSU’s famed botanical gardens.  About a half-hour long and scored for orchestra, chorus, children’s choir and hand bell ensemble, it comprises four movements, “Litany of Endangered Plants,” “Meditation on Living Fossils,” “A Pastoral Journey” and “The Children’s Promise.”  Why it has taken so long for a second performance – in addition to the usual problem of bringing new music into the repertoire – is puzzling, since it is so approachable, from both a performer’s and a listener’s perspective, and so relevant to contemporary life on our environmentally challenged planet.

One reason may be the forces required to perform it.  Another may be that critical reaction to the MSU premiere was cool (too “accessible,” lacking in depth, etc.).  This listener found it moving and stimulating.  So what if it lacks complexity and is “easy on the ears?”

It opened, with a big triadic chord and a fanfare-like introduction.  The chorus recited a “litany”( in Latin) of endangered plants against a colorful orchestral background, with pounding timpani and stinging gongs (to call it a child of “Carmina Burana” might not be too far off the mark).

“Meditation on Living Fossils,” a purely orchestral movement, evoked roots digging laboriously through the ground.   With dark, mournful double basses, low flutes and stark dotted rhythms, it had a doomed, “moldy” sound that died away at the end.

“A Pastoral Journey” (meant to evoke forest vistas, Stanbery said) was big, percussion-rich and multi-colored, with “leafy” glissandos (fingers sliding over the string), a wealth of metal percussion (including handbells) and some fine solos by the HFSO winds.  The chorus intoned verses from Matthew 6:28-29 (“Behold the lilies of the field . . .”).

The children’s voices took over sweetly in the final movement, asserting “We will protect our heritage,” as the adults repeated their litany of threatened species amid the ring of percussion and handbells.  There was a minimalist feel as the soft ending approached and all the voices joined in the promise.

Zwilich’s described her three-day visit to Hamilton as “an extraordinary experience,” indicating “what a special place the arts hold” in this northern suburb of Cincinnati.  She already has the Key to the City of Cincinnati, by the way.  The world premiere of her “Millennium Fantasy” for piano and orchestra took place in Music Hall in Cincinnati in September, 2000 with pianist Jeffrey Biegel and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra led by former music director Jesus Lopez-Cobos.  Her Violin Concerto was performed by violinist Pamela Frank and the CSO led by guest conductor Junichi Hirokami in April, 2000, also at Music Hall. 

The Hamilton Fairfield Symphony’s American Masters Concerts, which bring a distinguished living composer to the community for a week each year, culminating in a concert of his or her music, began with H. Owen Reed in 1999.  Others have included Wallace DePue, James Niblock, Thomas Benjamin, Robert Ward, Catherine McMichael and Philip Koplow.

Founded in 1951, the Hamilton Fairfield Symphony is a 75-member professional orchestra that presents four to five concerts a year, including an annual Mozart Festival.  This year’s Mozart Festival is April 17-25 at various locations in Butler County.  For information, visit www.hfso.org