By David Amos
SAN DIEGO–I would like to call to your attention to a very special concert which the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra will present at Tifereth Israel Synagogue. This is a program with strong Jewish content, and is titled Rebirth, Remembrance, Revelation.
The Youth Philharmonic String Orchestra and String Ensemble, directed by Alyze Dreiling, is focused on advanced pre-professional musicians. It is one of three ensembles that comprise the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, a non-profit corporation. It is dedicated to embracing the musical, social, and intellectual growth of young musicians of all ethnic, cultural, and economic backgrounds, through inspired instruction, dynamic ensemble rehearsals, and exceptional performances. YPO supports music in the schools and encourages its members to participate in their school instrumental programs, when available.
The Rebirth segment of this concert will have the superb Fantasy on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, composed byEngland’s symphonic master, Ralph Vaughan-Williams. It is written for a double-string orchestra, and it precedes stereo music by several decades.
Remembrance will be musically depicted by the touching Yizkor, for Viola and Orchestra by the Hungarian-Israeli composer Odeon Partos. I have been rewarded by conducting this work several times; it was written in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, and is a most touching statement. Also, I have personally worked in Israel with several musicians of the Israel Philharmonic who studied with Partos and we all were inspired by his music and teachings.
In the Rebirth section, the orchestra, together with the distinguished clarinet soloist Robert Zelickman, will play The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind, and Lullaby and Doina, by Oswaldo Golijov, an Argentinean-American, whose parents came from Eastern Europe, and grew up with a mix of Klezmer and Tangos.
Robert Zelickman is also a Lecturer of Music at UC San Diego, where he has taught since 1983. In addition to teaching clarinet and performing contemporary music, Robert conducts the UCSD Wind Ensemble and lectures on Jewish Music. Besides his duties at the university, Robert can be seen in many other venues throughout the community. He was a member of Orchestra Nova San Diego (Formerly the SD Chamber Orchestra) for 23 years, and has performed with the SD Symphony and SD Opera. He is also known throughout California as the co-director of the Second Avenue Klezmer Ensemble.
In this most interesting concert, the Youth Philharmonic will also play music by Rachmaninoff, Vivaldi, and Bach, with guest artist flutist Sara Kornfeld Simpson, and YPO soloists Colin Barstad, Luke Carreon, Taylor Cottle, Alethia Espinal, Christine Han, Ethan Hsu, Jonathan Kwok, Nicole Christine, Jason Reimnitz, and Alyssa Yoshitake.
It will take place at Tifereth Israel Synagogue on (6660 Cowles Mountain Boulevard, San Diego, 92119) on Wednesday, November 28, at 7:30 p.m. To purchase tickets, call (858) 592 9790, or on line, http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4603386854. For directions to TiferethIsrael, call (619) 697 6001.
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A few days ago, I had the pleasure of seeing the new historical drama film Lincoln.
What follows is far from being a full fledged film review, but a here are a couple of comments worth sharing with you:
The screenplay is by Tony Kushner. He considers Lincoln (brilliantly played by Daniel Day-Lewis) to be “the greatest democratic leader in the world”. He also said that Lincoln’s abolitionist ideas made him appealing to a Jewish writer, and although Lincoln was Christian, he rarely quoted from the New Testament, and that “his thinking and his ethical deliberation seem very Talmudic”.
Also, I noted near the end of the film, when Lincoln was talking to his wife Mary Todd L. (Sally Field) about his desire to visit Jerusalem after the presidency. Unfortunately, he never had that opportunity.
But what intrigued me, as you would expect, was the musical score to the film. It was composed by John Williams, who has given us so many memorable musical cinematic moments. As effective as this music was, it sounded most of the time like Aaron Copland, and in specific moments, straight out of Copland’s A Lincoln Portrait.
However, don’t assume the obvious here.
Sometimes, a book, a musical composition, a film, or even a television series can make such a strong and definitive statement, that it forces anything that follows it to somehow, resemble the original in order to have relevance in the eyes and ears of the public.
Take the legendary franchise Star Trek. It was so overwhelmingly influential in setting the standards for science fiction, the terminology, the pseudo and real science, the gadgets, the alien and human characters, and the space ships, to the point that anything that followed it was forced to make a reference to some of the above elements in order to have a credible story line in our imagination. Only some trailblazing film such as Avatar with its totally radical and different approach to futurism was able to break from the mold which formed in our minds.
The same applies with the music of Copland. The American spirit in orchestral music is forcibly Copland. And this applies even in a stronger way with A Lincoln Portrait; and when I heard John Williams’ music during the film, it made for me a perfect fit, a sense of comfort and familiarity, which enhanced the flow of the drama in the scene.
Should we use the words “imitation” and “flattery” here? Maybe.
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Amos is conductor of the Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra and has conducted professional orchestras around the world. He may be contacted at david.amos@sdjewishworld.com
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