SYMPHONY NO. 1

The composer's family history has been the inspiration of Symphony No. 1. For centuries, the persecution of various ethnic groups has forced younger generations to separate from their elders and seek safety and freedom in foreign lands. It is the story of untold numbers of families. It is the story of this symphony.

THE MUSIC AND ITS STORY

Movement I (Origins) interweaves moods and themes that describe the changing emotional landscape of my ancestors in their eastward migration from Prague to Russia.

Movement II (Separation) with Klezmer Band memorializes the persecution of my family and others in the pogroms of the late 1800s. The movement starts with saber-wielding Cossacks on horseback terrorizing the villagers. That violent music is suddenly replaced by the message given to my mother and her parents by the family elders: three ascending notes cry out “YOU MUST GO.” The family then recollects the songs and dances they shared. But their reveries are interrupted by the return of the Cossacks, whose threats force the family to separate forever.

Movement III (Remembrance) was the 2009 winner of the American Composer Competition and reflects the family's sadness, which is voiced in the first theme. This initial theme is subsumed by the second theme, with its expression of compassion and love. The movement ends with intimations that the departing family will survive.

Movement IV (Arrival) heralds the ocean voyage and arrival in America, where the family finds safety and freedom.

 PERFORMANCES

Symphony No. 1
Movement III “Remembrance” 
I Giovani Solisti
Emmett Drake, Conductor
St. James Episcopal Church
W. Hartford, CT - May 15, 2022

Symphony No. 1
Movement III “Remembrance” 
Hudson Valley Chamber Musicians
Chamber Music Concert Series
Coventry, CT - May 8, 2022

Symphony No.1 
Palm Beach Symphony Orchestra
Michael Lankester, Conductor
Eissey Campus Theatre
Palm Beach Gardens, FL - January 21, 2020

Symphony No. 1
Movement III “Remembrance”
New Britain Symphony Orchestra with CCSU Chorus
Ertan Sener, Conductor
Welte Hall
New Britain, CT - November 20, 2016

Symphony No. 1
Movement III “Remembrance” for string septet
Hartford Symphony Orchestra Performers
Michael Lancaster, Conductor
Hartford Atheneum
Hartford, CT - February 4, 2013

Symphony No. 1
Movement III “Remembrance” 
West Hartford Symphony Orchestra
Richard Chiarappa, Conductor
Roberts Theater
West Hartford, CT - January 22, 2012

Symphony No.1 
Laredo Philharmonic Orchestra
Brendan Townsend, Conductor
Texas A&M International Recital Hall
Laredo, TX - January 24, 2010

Symphony No. 1
Movement III “Remembrance” 
Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Jason Love, Conductor
Jim Rouse Theatre for the Performing Arts
Columbia, MD - December 5, 2009

Symphony No.1
West Hartford Symphony Orchestra
Richard Chiarappa, Conductor
West Hartford Town Hall
West Hartford, CT - March 5, 2006

Symphony No. 1
Movement III “Remembrance” 
Hartford Symphony Orchestra
Edward Cumming, Conductor
Bushnell Theatre for Performing Arts
Hartford, CT - February 13 and 14, 2003

Symphony No. 1
Movement III “Remembrance”
Electronic Realization
The ballet adaption “Yes Is A World”
Choreographed by Peggy Lyman
Lincoln Theater
West Hartford, CT - November 8, 9 and 10, 2002