Symphony No. 2(42)
Carson Kievman
About this work:
Carson Kievman's Symphony No. 2(42) retains the emotional, spiritual, and dynamic intensity if his opera and music-theater work, throuh developed within a symphonic structure. To some degree autobiographical, the music expresses basic human issues such as loss and spirituality with the insights of a personal statement. While his influences are diverse, Kievman's work might be viewed in the tradition of Western individualists, such as Ives, Satie, or Varese.
Stylistically, the recording suggests a dynamic reconciliation of classicsm and modernism. Rebelling against academic tendencies within modernist music, Kievman has pursued an aesthetic that links 20th-century experimentation with a genuine emotional depth and meaning. Orchestral innovation is used not simply for intellectual effect, but to lead the listener into new musical territories. On its surface, the music displays the timeless elements that have historically drawn audiences to the orchestra: harmony and rhythm, lyricism and drama. Yet underlaying these elements, the writing and performances reveal complexities of sound and meaning. In Kievman's world, modern techniques of layering, juxtaposition, and dissonance are shifted and combined in origianl ways to achieve simultaneous - or classical - unities of expression. The work is thus historically grounded, but thoroughly of the present.
Symphony No. 2(42) was commissioned by the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra in 1991 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Mozart's death.
The music conveys a sense of Mozart as visionary artist, striving to pursue creative freedom despite the ultimate costs to his career and health.
The final movement incorporates the "Lacrymosa" from Mozart's unfinished Requiem: the last bars of music that he wrote from his deathbed at age 35.
For Kievman, this tragic ending becomes the frame of reference for the creative life, with the symphony's four-part structure depicting a metaphorical journey from youth through death, and beyond.
Stylistically, the recording suggests a dynamic reconciliation of classicism and modernism.
Kievman has pursued an aesthetic that links 20th-century experimentation with a genuine emotional depth and meaning.
Orchestral innovation is used not simply for intellectual effect, but to lead the listener into new musical territories. On its surface, the music displays the timeless elements that have historically drawn audiences to the orchestra: harmony and rhythm, lyricism and drama.
Yet underlying these elements, the writing and performances reveal complexities of sound and meaning. In Kievman's world, modern techniques of layering, juxtaposition, and dissonance are shifted and combined in original ways to achieve simultaneous - or classical - unities of expression.
The work is thus historically grounded, but thoroughly of the present.
Resurrection" (Movement 4)
The transcendent final movement continues the journey towards a new psychic and spiritual terrain - or, in the words of the Lachrymosa, an expectation of mankind arising from the ashes on the day of judgment.
An ethereal quality pervades the opening, as fragments of the familiar and unfamiliar float in a dreamlike state: echoes from each of the earlier movements and foreshadowing of new themes, accentuated by flutter-tongue playing of the winds and bold glissandi of strings.
From the opening bar, these elements are linked by a subtle melodic figure in the bass and violas, a chant-like theme that progresses with the hypnotic steadiness of a train; the fragments develop over the course of its voyage, guided by the inexorable undercurrent of motion.
A new melodic theme, somewhat nostalgic yet elegant, is first introduced by cellos and presented in ever longer appearances, as echoes of Mozart are continually asserted by various instruments.
Interruptions by the harp, and later by tubular bells and vibraphone, suggest the heavenly nature of the destination.
A string of timpani signals the sublime entrance of the chorus, emerging angelically from the instrumental fabric. The music then undergoes a gradual and organic transformation towards the Lacrymosa, as if summoned by the strengthening upward pull of choral voices.
The developing lyricism is obscured by expressionistic surges - the metallic rhythm of timpani and tenor drums being played on their sides, or flaring interruptions of brass and orchestra.
After a muted trumpet sounds the secondary theme for the last time, a new rhythmic transition appears in the marimba and vibraphone; no longer resisting the inevitable, the music is led to its destination by a delicate choral ascent.
From the midst of modernist techniques, Mozart's 18th-century theme arrives with an aura of otherworldly clarity and purity.
The fatalism, sadness, and fear of earlier movements have yielded to the expression transcribed by Mozart at his own moment of death, reassuring and expectant.
From this brief plateau of eight bars, Kievman carries forward the rising notes of the Lacrymosa in a beautiful and majestic ascent.
The spiritual intuition is developed seamlessly, free now of worldly constraints, as if Mozart could suddenly experience the motion of time in an accelerated vision.
Mozart's classical theme goes through an historical metamorphosis, from the romantic and chromatic to the modern and postmodern.
The chorus and orchestra become gradually more expressive, colorful, and rhythmic, reaching a powerful crescendo; from this summit, the individual voices become more free and complex, resuming the ascent towards a final point of unison, then beyond into infinite silence.
Mark David Needle
Year composed: 1991
Duration: 00:56:45
Ensemble type: Orchestra:Standard Orchestra
Instrumentation: 1 Piccolo, 2 Flute, 2 Oboe, 1 English Horn, 2 Clarinet, 1 Bass Clarinet, 2 Bassoon, 1 Contrabassoon, 4 Horn in F, 3 Trumpet, 3 Trombone, 1 Tuba, 1 Timpani, 3 Percussion (General), 1 Strings (General), 2 Harp, 1 S, 1 A, 1 T, 1 B