Multi-Grammy Award winner Giancarlo Guerrero conducts the NZSO in two post-war American works, Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No 2, The Age of Anxiety, in which they are joined by Korean pianist Joyce Yang, and Aaron Copland’s monumental Symphony No 3.
The concert opens with Eve de Castro-Robinson’s Len Dances.
Len Lye Rotating Harmonic 1959 (2010 reconstruction). Courtesy the Len Lye Foundation Collection, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Photo:
Programme
DE CASTRO-ROBINSON: Len Dances
BERNSTEIN: Symphony No 2, The Age of Anxiety
COPLAND: Symphony No 3
Eve de Castro-Robinson’s Len Dances was inspired by pioneering New Zealand kinetic artist, sculptor and film-maker Len Lye. During his lifetime, Len Lye’s art was considered sensational and even controversial. After relocating to New York his unique artistic voice was more fully appreciated.
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra/Giancarlo Guerrero
Joyce Yang Photo: KT Kim
Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No 2, The Age of Anxiety is an unconventional symphony with a virtuosic part for piano. While the instrument is often heard in isolation, the orchestra is by no means simply there to accompany.
This piece completely overwhelmed soloist Joyce Yang when she first heard it. She came to appreciate and understand this piece after learning about Bernstein’s obsession with the poem The Age of Anxiety by WH Auden. It won the 1948 Pulitzer Prize for its depiction of post-World War II city life, with one man desperately seeking faith in a seemingly faithless world.
Apparently, Bernstein identified with the characters in the poem and used the piano part as a reflection of himself and the orchestra around him, as the world he had to face.
Joyce Yang (piano), New Zealand Symphony Orchestra/Giancarlo Guerrero
In the 1940s, American composers were searching for The Great American Symphony, and Copland's big four-movement work fit the bill.
Composed for Serge Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the jubilant sound captures the celebratory atmosphere of the end of WWII. Copland clarified that he didn’t write the symphony as a direct response to the war, but its “affirmative tone” was “certainly related to its time.”
Koussevitzky said, "There is no doubt about it — this is the greatest American symphony. It goes from the heart to the heart."
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra/Giancarlo Guerrero
Producer: David McCaw
Sound Engineer: Darryl Stack
Recorded 1 September 2023 at the Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington by RNZ Concert
