Concerto Fantastique

Last updated

Concerto Fantastique is an orchestral composition in four movements by the American composer Ralph Shapey. The work was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, who first performed the work under the composer on November 21, 1991. [1] It was a finalist for the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Music. [2] [3]

Contents

Composition

Concerto Fantastique has a duration of roughly one hour and is composed in four movements:

  1. Variations
  2. Elegy
  3. Intermezzo
  4. Rondo

The first movement, "Variations", is dedicated to the University of Chicago, [4] at which Shapey was on faculty from the mid-1960s until his retirement in 1991. [5] The second movement, "Elegy", is dedicated to the late Chicago-based philanthropist Paul Fromm. The last two movements, "Intermezzo" and "Rondo", are both dedicated to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. [4]

Shapey described the composition process, remarking, "I started out to write a concerto, but as I was writing the piece it became more and more obvious that this was not just a concerto. That is how Fantastique came to be added to the title. I wrote the piece for a virtuoso orchestra and virtuoso players. The second, third and fourth movements come directly out of the first. Each movement is complete within itself, but you can also regard the entire work as a great big sonata-allegro form." [4]

Reception

World premiere

Concerto Fantastique received a mixed response from the audience at its world premiere. Wynne Delacoma of the Chicago Sun-Times observed, "The hall was full at the start of the evening, probably because Alfred Brendel was opening the program with Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2. A portion of the audience didn't return from intermission to hear Shapey conduct his own work, and more left in the pauses between the four movements." [6] The music critic John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune similarly wrote, "There was a noticeable exodus of audience members between movements of Shapey's hourlong work and scattered boos at the end." Despite this, Rhein added, "But the applause was considerable, and Chicago's most eminent composer, back in front of the CSO after 22 years, clearly savored the moment." [1]

Critical response

The piece has received a very positive reception from music critics. Reviewing the world premiere, John von Rhein wrote, "Concerto fantastique is [Shapey's] biggest work to date, and while I don't think it's his most successful—I much prefer the Shapey of the pungent, concise pieces he has written for his Contemporary Chamber Players—I would not deny the work's sinewy expressiveness or its stubborn refusal to sound like anybody else but Shapey." He added:

Shapey's sternly sculpted abstract expressionism stands at a far remove from what most of today's younger composers are doing. It is tough, aggressive, loud, uncompromising in its demands on players and listeners. Yet underneath the concerto's typically knotted textures and ferocious harmonies beats the heart of a fervent romantic. Shapey is about the only ecstatic visionary still working in serious music; he's a modern-day Icarus who thinks nothing of flying perilously close to the sun every chance he gets. [1]

Pulitzer dispute

The jury for the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Music, comprising George Perle, Roger Reynolds, and Harvey Sollberger, unanimously chose to submit only Concerto Fantastique for award consideration, despite Pulitzer rules requiring the jury to submit three works for board consideration. The jury wrote, "Long the creator of original and visionary works in a wide range of musical media, Mr. Shapey has in this work achieved a striking summation that integrates the craggy and uncompromising materials of a very personal language on a grand scale." [7]

When the Pulitzer board demanded an alternative, threatening to forego a music prize for the year, the jury submitted Wayne Peterson's The Face of the Night, the Heart of the Dark . In an upset to the jury, the board selected The Face of the Night, the Heart of the Dark over Concerto Fantastique as the winner. [8] [9]

George Perle commented on the incident, remarking, "I don't want to belittle the Peterson work, which is marvelous. It is absolutely worthy of a Pulitzer Prize. But the Pulitzer Prize is supposed to be for the single best work of the year, and on this occasion we felt that there was a work that was more impressive. We were entirely unanimous on that point, and we did not expect to be overruled." [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulitzer Prize for Music</span> American award for musical works

The Pulitzer Prize for Music is one of seven Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually in Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first given in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year, and this was eventually converted into a prize: "For a distinguished musical composition of significant dimension by an American that has had its first performance in the United States during the year."

Shulamit Ran is an Israeli-American composer. She moved from Israel to New York City at 14, as a scholarship student at the Mannes College of Music. Her Symphony (1990) won her the Pulitzer Prize for Music. She was the second woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music, the first being Ellen Taaffe Zwilich in 1983. Ran was a professor of music composition at the University of Chicago from 1973 to 2015. She has performed as a pianist in Israel, Europe and the U.S., and her compositional works have been performed worldwide by a wide array of orchestras and chamber groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Stucky</span> American composer

Steven Edward Stucky was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Shapey</span> American composer and conductor

Ralph Shapey was an American composer and conductor.

Christopher Chapman Rouse III was an American composer. Though he wrote for various ensembles, Rouse is primarily known for his orchestral compositions, including a Requiem, a dozen concertos, and six symphonies. His work received numerous accolades, including the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award, the Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition, and the Pulitzer Prize for Music. He also served as the composer-in-residence for the New York Philharmonic from 2012 to 2015.

Wayne Peterson was an American composer, pianist, and educator. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Music for The Face of the Night, the Heart of the Dark in 1992, when its board overturned the jury's unanimous selection of Concerto Fantastique by Ralph Shapey.

John Bruce Yeh is an American clarinetist. He has been the assistant principal clarinetist and E-flat clarinetist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 1977. Yeh is the founder and director of the chamber ensemble, Chicago Pro Musica, whose first recording, Stravinsky's L'Histoire du soldat, won the 1985 Grammy Award for the Best New Classical Artist.

Mason Wesley Bates is a Grammy award-winning American composer of symphonic music and DJ of electronic dance music. He is the first composer-in-residence of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and he has also been in residence with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Pittsburgh Symphony, and the California Symphony. In addition to his notable works Mothership, Anthology of Fantastic Zoology, and The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, he composed the score to Gus Van Sant's film The Sea of Trees. In a 2018 survey of American orchestras, he was rated the second-most performed living composer.

Robert Michael Lombardo is an American composer and composition teacher.

Heimdall's Trumpet is a concerto for trumpet and orchestra by the American composer Christopher Rouse. It was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for its principal trumpeter Christopher Martin. The piece was completed January 21, 2012 and premiered December 20, 2012 at Symphony Center in Chicago.

The Clarinet Concerto is a concerto for clarinet and orchestra by the American composer Christopher Rouse. The work was commissioned for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and its principal clarinetist Larry Combs by the Institute for American Music. It was completed December 11, 2000 and premiered May 17, 2001 at Symphony Center in Chicago with Christoph Eschenbach conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The piece is dedicated to Rouse's friend and fellow composer Augusta Read Thomas.

The Violin Concerto is a concerto for violin and orchestra in three movements by the American composer Elliott Carter. The work was jointly commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony and the violinist Ole Bøhn. It was completed February 26, 1990 in Waccabuc, New York, and was premiered May 2, 1990 in San Francisco, with conductor Herbert Blomstedt leading Bøhn and the San Francisco Symphony. The piece won the 1994 Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition.

The Violin Concerto is a concerto for violin and orchestra by the American composer Mason Bates. The work was commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and violinist Anne Akiko Meyers. It was premiered December 7, 2012, with Meyers and the Pittsburgh Symphony performing under conductor Leonard Slatkin.

Alternative Energy is a symphony for electronica and orchestra in four movements by the American composer Mason Bates. The work was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, for whom Bates was then composer-in-residence. It was premiered by the orchestra under conductor Riccardo Muti at Symphony Center in Chicago, February 2, 2012.

Pinturas de Tamayo is an orchestral composition in five movements by the American composer Steven Stucky. The work was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, who premiered the work on March 28, 1996, under the conductor Michael Gielen in Symphony Center, Chicago. The piece is inspired by the paintings of the Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo.

The Face of the Night, the Heart of the Dark is an orchestral composition in one movement by the American composer Wayne Peterson. The piece was first performed by the San Francisco Symphony under the conductor David Zinman in October 1991. It won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Music. The title is a quote from the works of Thomas Wolfe.

Astral Canticle is a double concerto for violin, flute, and orchestra by the American composer Augusta Read Thomas. The work was Thomas's sixth and final commission by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra before she concluded her nine-year tenure there as composer-in-residence. It was first performed in Chicago on June 1, 2006, by the flutist Mathieu Dufour, the violinist Robert Chen, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the conductor Daniel Barenboim. The piece is dedicated to Barenboim and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The composition was a finalist for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Music.

The Concerto for Cello, Piano, and String Orchestra is a composition for solo cello, piano, and a large string orchestra by the American composer Ralph Shapey. The work was composed for the cellist Joel Krosnick and the pianist Gilbert Kalish and was first performed at Tanglewood in 1989. It was first performed by Krosnick, Kalish, and the Berkshire Music Chamber Orchestra under the composer on July 31, 1989. The piece was a finalist for the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Music and shared the top Kennedy Center Friedheim Award prize with William Kraft for Veils and Variations for Horn and Orchestra.

The Symphonia: sum fluxae pretium spei is an orchestral triptych by the American composer Elliott Carter. Its three movements were composed between 1993 and 1995. The complete work was first performed on April 25, 1998 at Bridgewater Hall, Manchester by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the conductor Oliver Knussen. The second movement "Adagio tenebroso" was a finalist for the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Music. The third movement "Allegro scorrevole" won The Prince Pierre of Monaco Music Composition Prize in 1998.

Elizabeth Ogonek is an American composer of contemporary classical music.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Rhein, John von (November 22, 1991). "Shapey Directs A Challenging World Premiere". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  2. ↑ Reich, Howard (April 9, 1992). "Pulitzer Lost As Board Changes Tune". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Ralph Shapey, 81; Known for His Atonal Compositions". Los Angeles Times . June 25, 2002. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 Rhein, John von (November 10, 1991). "It's 'Fantastique': Ralph Shapey Turns Mellow - Even Toward the CSO". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  5. ↑ Stearns, David (17 June 2002). "Ralph Shapey: Avant-garde composer who dared to be difficult". The Guardian . Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  6. ↑ Delacoma, Wynne (November 22, 1991). "CSO's dazzling, difficult in 'Concerto Fantastique'". Chicago Sun-Times .
  7. ↑ Rothstein, Edward (April 19, 1992). "CLASSICAL VIEW; In the Fracas Over a Prize, No One Won". The New York Times . Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  8. 1 2 Kozinn, Allan (April 9, 1992). "A Pulitzer Dispute: Should Music Prize Be Left to Experts?". The New York Times . Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  9. ↑ MacMinn, Aleene (April 9, 1992). "Music". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved December 27, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.