Copland piece pushes tempo to crescendo in orchestra concert

The Princeton University Orchestra will open its 2001-2002 performance season with two concerts at Richardson Auditorium on Oct.19-20.

Composed of more than 150 undergraduates, graduate students, faculty members and members of the local community, the orchestra consistently performs both new music and classics from the standard repertoire of orchestral masterpieces.

The upcoming program will feature Aaron Copland's timeless masterpiece of American folklore, "Appalachian Spring" and also includes works by Engelbert Humperdink and Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Conductor Michael Pratt, who is entering his 24th year at the orchestra's helm, is especially excited about the Rachmaninoff piece. "This is the last work of Rachmaninoff, always the popular 'big tune' composer, who is undergoing a resurgence of respectability even from the musical intelligentsia," Pratt said. "He was not only the quintessential neo-Romantic, he was a weaver of dazzling and delicate textures, unsurpassed in craftsmanship."

The orchestra will perform Rachmaninoff's "Symphonic Dances" — a sweeping, emotional musical drama that Pratt says conveys "the longing, the brilliance, the wry-wickedness and the sensuality" of one of the most virtuosic and passionate composers of all time.

The program will also include the Overture from Humperdink's opera "Hansel and Gretel."

As in Rachmaninoff, Humperdink partakes in the rich textures and languages of musical Romanticism. The Overture will leave a trail of bits and pieces of the most famous tunes from the entire opera, which the orchestra hopes will cause the audience to return for their December concert, in which Princeton faculty and students will collaborate with nearby neighbors Westminster Choir College to present the opera in its entirety.

But looking away from the breadcrumb trail behind, the current program leads us to a house of gingerbread and sweets at the heart of the concert — Copland's "Appalachian Spring."

Perhaps one of the best-known American symphonic works, and also quite possibly the most beloved, this work promises to be perhaps the most powerful performance of the evening.

With its blend of Modernist musical techniques and Romantic, pastoral longings for the simple days of an Appalachian community in Pennsylvania, Copland's masterpiece captures the essence of the heart of America.

From its dreamy morning awakening until the powerful rendition of the folk hymn "Simple Gifts" at the climax of the piece, Copland blends the hopes and imaginations of America's past and her dreams of the future to create a musical landscape unsurpassed to this day.

While far from a simple gift, Copland's complex harmonies are at the same time unassuming and humble.

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Concertgoers can expect to leave the performance with the sounds of the hills still resonating in their hearts.

From the German Romanticism of Humperdinck to the passions of Russia in Rachmaninoff to the majestic simplicity of Copland's America, the orchestra will endeavor to take audiences on an epic musical journey of great beauty and power.

The concert promises to continue the orchestra's tradition of musical excellence and will set the stage for another year of great performances. This is a musical tour de force not to be missed. Tickets to the concert, priced at $5 for students and $15 for general admission, are available at the Richardson Box Office and at the door.