Utah Symphony Commemorates The Legacy of JFK

Utah Symphony Commemorates
The Legacy of JFK

Legacy of JFK commemorated with music that captures his spirit.

Abravanel Hall, Friday Nov. 22, 8:00 PM / Saturday Nov. 23, 8:00 PM 

The Utah Symphony commemorates the legacy of an American icon, by performing music that was written about John F. Kennedy and captures the spirit of his presidency on the 50th anniversary of his assassination in 1963.

Special guest narrator, Edward Herrmann (“Law & Order”, “Gilmore Girls”, “The Practice”), joins Maestro Thierry Fischer and the Utah Symphony at Abravanel Hall November 22 and 23, to pay homage to an American legacy and the 50th anniversary of a tragic event.

Works by Benjamin Britten bookend the concert repertoire, which showcases elegies written for the late president by Igor Stravinsky and Peter Lieberson. Carl Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4, “The Inextinguishable,” also makes an appearance on the program.

Stravinsky wrote brief memorial works throughout his life but by the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had reached an age when they were becoming a far too regular necessity. Stravinsky had been an acquaintance of President John F. Kennedy and was shocked by the news of the assassination. He later told the New York Times: “The idea [for the Elegy] came to me in mid-January 1964. I felt that the events of November were being too quickly forgotten and I wished to protest.”

Stravinsky’s Elegy for JFK comprises four haikus written by W.H. Auden about JFK, and each syllable of the haiku is a note. The work is also just for mezzo soprano and three clarinets.

The Lieberson piece, Remembering JFK, is the newest work being performed at this concert. It has a modern, “American” sound, but has tonality and narration from some of JFK’s speeches. Lieberson was commissioned in 2010 to compose a commemorative work for the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy Inauguration the following January. Intent on a work consisting of woven narration and orchestral color, Lieberson began to read through the collected speeches of JFK and, as quoted in Thomas May’s note for the National Symphony premiere, stated that he was “astonished that so much of what [Kennedy] said carried presentiments of what we need today.”

The Nielsen symphony – the oldest piece of music in this concert at 97 years old – stretches this tension of unbridled energy. Nielsen wanted to present music as something equal to man, not just an emotional expression. He believed that music is its own universal force. From the fourth we get Nielsen’s quote “Music is life, and, like it, inextinguishable.”

Related Events:

In their 5th year of collaboration, the Utah Symphony and The Road Home are holding a benefit and clothing drive on November 22 and 23, 2013 in the lobby of Abravanel Hall prior to both evening concerts. The Road Home will be collecting cash donations, with a $15,000 matching grant in place from Chevron. Additionally, they welcome donations of warm clothes, blankets, ski jackets, mittens, boots, hats, scarves. All those bringing a donation will receive “Utah Symphony bucks” that can be used to purchase tickets to future performances. The Road Home is a private non-profit social services agency that assists individuals and families experiencing homelessness in Salt Lake County and along the Wasatch Front.

Music Director Thierry Fischer and Vice President of Artistic Planning Toby Tolokan will present a free pre-concert chat each night, one hour prior to the start of the performance on the orchestra level of Abravanel Hall. They will be joined by local Nielsen scholar Mogens Mogensen, who has written about Nielsen’s life in five published volumes, and has commissioned paintings inspired by each of Nielsen’s symphonies (which will also be on display).

Tickets can be purchased by phone at (801) 355-2787, in person at the Abravanel Hall ticket office (123 W. South Temple) or online by visiting www.utahsymphony.org.

About Edward Herrmann, Narrator

Herrmann boasts an impressive career that spans more than 30 years in the theater, in films and on television. He is best known for his Emmy-nominated portrayal of Franklin D. Roosevelt on television, and to younger generations for his role as Richard Gilmore in "Gilmore Girls," as a ubiquitous narrator for historical programs on the History Channel, and as the spokesman for Dodge automobiles in the 1990s.

He is known for his portrayal of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the made-for-TV movie, "Eleanor and Franklin" (1976) and the sequel, "Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years" (1977), both of which earned him Best Actor Emmy nominations, as well as in the first feature film adaptation of the Broadway musical "Annie" (1982).

Herrmann also earned an Emmy in 1999 for his guest appearances on "The Practice." He was nominated for a Tony Award for "Plenty" in 1983 and Emmys in 1986 and 1987 for his guest-starring role as Father Joseph McCabe on "St. Elsewhere."

His film career began in the mid-1970s, playing supporting roles as Robert Redford's partner in "The Great Waldo Pepper," a law student in "The Paper Chase," the idle, piano-playing Klipspringer in "The Great Gatsby" and opposite Laurence Olivier in "The Betsy" (1978). Among his better known roles are as the title character in "Harry's War" (1981), Goldie Hawn's rich husband in "Overboard," Reverend Michael Hill in Disney's "The North Avenue Irregulars."

About Abigail Levis, Mezzo Soprano

Named "Debut Artist of the Year" by the Joy in Singing Foundation, lyric mezzo-soprano Abigail Levis is emerging as one of the most exciting young singers of today. The Boston Musical Intelligencer praised her for her “dramatic style” and “high level of technical ability” in her performance in “Israel in Egypt” with the Handel and Haydn Society in Symphony Hall.

She is a recent graduate of the Vocal Arts program at the Bard College Conservatory where she studies with Edith Bers and Dawn Upshaw. As a professional singer, Ms. Levis has appeared as a soloist with the American Symphony Orchestra, Ars Lyrica Houston, and the New York Opera Exchange in addition to the Handel and Haydn Society. She is also the winner of several competitions, including the 2012 Classical Singer Competition, the 2012 Oratorio Society of New York Competition (second place), a 2012 Schuyler Grant, the 2011 Five Towns Music Competition in Long Island, the 2011 Young Texas Artist competition, the 2010 University of Houston Concerto Competition, the 2010 National Orpheus Vocal Competition. She is currently a Resident Artist with Utah Opera.

Program

       The Utah Symphony presents Remembering JFK

              Thierry Fischer, Conductor

              Abigail Levis, Mezzo Soprano

              Edward Herrmann, Narrator

Benjamin Britten

       An American Overture

Carl Nielsen

       Symphony No. 4, op.29, "The Inextinguishable" In one movement

Intermission

Igor Stravinsky

       Elegy For JFK

Peter Lieberson

       Remembering JFK (An American Elegy)

Benjamin Britten

       Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Purcell (Young
       Person's Guide) op. 34

Abravanel Hall
123 West South Temple
Salt Lake City, UT

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