ROCCO PRIOLETTI
Staff Writer
“I tried to find pieces that were actually made in the United States, and not necessarily always by composers that we think … are American,” Rossen Milanov, principal symphonic conductor for Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, said.
Antonín Dvořák’s beloved Symphony No. 9, “From the New World,” is perhaps the most compelling example of this. Despite his Czech origins, Dvořák’s “New World” symphony has become synonymous with America; even now, more than 130 years later, that sentiment still rings true.
“But, it’s his distillation of his view of America at the time: the dynamism, the fact that the country was created by all sorts of different cultures, and each one of them gave its own imprint,” Milanov said. “And, it literally became, probably, one of the first pieces that Americans have adopted as something that sounds American.”
Dvořák wrote the “New World” symphony during his time living in the United States where he was the director of the National Conservatory of Music of America.
Milanov noted that, as a Czech composer, one of Dvořák’s main objectives was to establish his country’s identity, people and folklore quantifiably through song. In America, the composer sought out the same for American classical music under the influence of folk traditions — specifically, African American spirituals and Native American music.
“He was a person that was very open-minded, and he helped a lot of people. And he advised them to look into the … spirituals, to look into whatever was the first step of jazz at the time, you know?” Milanov said.
In 1893, when the symphony was composed, American classical music was defined by imitations of European styles; there was no style synonymous with the country’s identity itself.
Dvořák wanted to showcase “the music that was created literally on the streets, or in the bars or in the dance clubs and say, (to American composers), ‘This is what your music could sound like.’”
Dvořák’s “New World” symphony helped American composers find their own voices, as well as help inform the country’s unified voice.
Milanov draws similarities between fellow “compatriot of Dvořák,” Bohuslav Martinů, and his “Oboe Concerto.”
“…It’s always so striking how, had Dvořák lived 50 years later, that could have been, actually, written by him — with the same kind of Czech idioms, with the same combination of exuberant, dance-like idioms, but also kind of like a sad and more emotional introspection, particularly in the oboe part,” Milanov said.
Milanov has lived with this piece for a long time, being a former oboist.
“I think this concerto features these two extremes of Martinů’s music: the dance element, and also the element of writing down, almost as [a slow] cry for an instrument that sort of reveals something very private about the composer or the performer. So, that combination makes this piece very special for me,” Milanov said.
Principal Oboist Jaren Atherholt will be spotlighted during Martinů’s “Oboe Concerto” as the soloist.
“I want to do it justice, you know? Because [Milanov] knows it so well,” Atherholt said. “And, I’m also excited for him to hear my interpretation and for us to collaborate in that way.”
Atherholt notes her excitement to debut this piece alongside Milanov, as previously, she had never performed Martinů’s concerto before. She displays how much fun it has been practicing it, characterizing the concerto’s depth of emotion.
“The first movement and the last movement are lighthearted and fun and exciting,” Atherholt said. “And the middle movement is almost prayerful. It’s a moment, in the middle of the piece, that’s so special and introspective. I think having that range of feelings in the piece is really interesting and exciting.”
At 8 p.m. in the Amphitheater, the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra will open the evening’s program with John Corigliano’s “Midsummer Fanfare.”
Corigliano differs from the rest of the program, being the only American-born composer. Milanov sees the piece as being representative of Corigliano’s originality and cleverness.
“The sections when [it’s] almost like everything emerges out of a mist. And when the elements of the fanfare, later on in the piece, are sort of exposed as if you’re looking at the New York harbor covered by fog and you just barely notice — [it’s a] very impressionistic way of writing,” Milanov said.
Milanov describes the improvisatory aspects of the score, noting musicians will never play the same thing twice.
“I think it’s a great opener, just because after … finding the elements of the piece at the beginning, you know, it transforms into this beautiful and optimistic fanfare,” Milanov said.
