Composers and creativity
Inspiration. Imagination. The elusive muse. Poets, writers, painters, and musicians have long sought that magic spark that ignites creativity. Where they find their inspiration is sometimes surprising, often right in front of them, and occasionally pulled from fairy tales. Composers who found that spark will have their music performed by the Coastal Symphony of Georgia during its 2024-25 Concert Season, and lucky concert attendees will have an opportunity to experience their inspired music.
For some, it was a return to the motherland. The Opening Night concert, Homelands, features composers who found their inspiration in stories and artistry of home. American composer, Brian Raphael Nabors, has a passionate desire to celebrate the African spirit, to create a symphonic tapestry of music based on tales from Africa and the Caribbean. Nabors draws from combinations of Jazz Funk, R&B, and Gospel with a modern flair of contemporary classical music for inspiration. In his Of Earth and Sky: Tales from the Motherland, Nabors seeks “to engulf the listener in these sounds of life, spirit, humanity.”
The concert will also feature Russian composer Mikhail Glinka’s rollicking Ruslan and Ludmila Overture which has been described as a workout for violinists and a nightmare for bassoonists! It will close with Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, imagined from viewing a good friend’s exhibition of paintings.
Fall will bring Emotions, a concert featuring music drawn from emotional experiences. Russian composer Dimitri Shostakovich’s powerful and deeply personal Chamber Symphony was written for quartet in three days, after he reluctantly joined the communist party, and later transcribed for orchestra. Much of the composer’s work was written under the pressure of government-imposed standards of Soviet art. The symphony has a sense of urgency throughout suggesting Shostakovich’s internal struggle with the political realities surrounding him. Once asked if he believed in God, he said “No, and I am very sorry about it.
Also on the program will be Austrian composer, Anton Webern’s luscious Langsamer Satz for strings; falling in love while on a hiking trip with his cousin, Webern envisioned the piece as a love song to the woman who would become his wife. American composer Quinn Mason’s Princesa de la Luna will enchant with its shimmering imagery of celestial elegance. And J.S. Bach’s Oboe d’amore Concerto, described as a cheerful, enticing work that makes happy and heals the heart, will be played by Clarence Heagy Principal Oboe Chair, Daniel Rios.
A personal recovery and a healing friendship brought us Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s only violin concerto which will be performed at the winter concert, Genius. It was composed in Clarens, Switzerland when the composer was recovering from depression and the end of his ill-fated marriage. A composition student, Iosif Kotch, had come to visit and they played violin and piano together causing Tchaikovsky to ask Kotch’s advice on the solo part of the concerto. “It goes without saying that I would have been able to do nothing without him,” noted the composer. The concerto would become one of the most beloved and challenging works for violin and orchestra with its lyrical melodies, virtuosic passages, and folk-inspired themes.
Russian-born soloist, Alexander Sitkovetsky will perform the concerto with the orchestra. The concerto is both feared and revered for its devilish difficulty and will showcase the virtuosity of this truly engaging artist. Sitkovetsky studied at the Menuhin School for musically gifted children in the UK where his mentor was Yehudi Menuhin, world renowned violinist and conductor. A fan of the older tradition of violin playing, he performs on the 1679 “Parera” Antonio Stradivari violin loaned to him by the Beare’s International Violin Society. The Stradivarius violins were built by members of the Italian Stradivari family during the 17th and 18th centuries; they are considered some of the finest instruments ever made and are extremely valuable as collector’s items.
The genius of Mozart will also be displayed at this concert in his “Linz” Symphony, written in four days when he arrived in Linz to discover a concert had been scheduled by a local court. Sometimes a deadline is all that is needed to inspire creativity! The concert will open with British composer Alma Deutscher’s Cinderella Overture full of enchanting melodies and harmonies that create a time of pure imagination. Her opera reimagines the fairy tale with a heroine who is a composer and a prince a poet who falls for her because of her talent.
The spring concert, Impressions, closes the season with imaginative music full of vivid imagery and impressionistic milestones. The program features music from American composers Jessie Montgomery and Charles Griffes, French composer Claude Debussy, and Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. Taking inspiration from a Russian fairy tale in The Firebird Suite, Stravinsky makes full use of a large orchestra, creating characters from the story and the Firebird’s blessing and curse.
This will bring an exciting and fitting close to a concert season full of inspiration, imagination, and the magic spark of creativity. This year’s performances are not to be missed. Order your tickets now and look forward to the experience!
For complete information on the 2024-2025 Coastal Symphony of Georgia season and to order tickets, please call the box office at 912.634.2006 or visit coastalsymphonyofgeorgia.org. Season subscribers save 20% on their ticket orders.
Concert Schedule:
Homelands: Monday, September 30, 2024, Brunswick High School ** THIS CONCERT HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO SCHOOL CLOSURE FOLLOWING HURRICANE HELENE**
Emotions: Monday, November 11, 2024, Wesley Church at Frederica
Genius: Monday, February 11, 2025, Wesley Church at Frederica
Impressions: Monday, March 24, 2025, Brunswick High School
All concerts begin at 7:30 p.m.
