Utah Symphony Presents A Historic Return Of Florence Price's Piano Concerto This Weekend!

The Utah Symphony's performance of Florence Price's Piano Concerto restores an obscure composer to center stage in a historic weekend performance. Two evening concerts will take place this weekend, Friday and Saturday, April 7 and 8, at 7:30 PM, at Abravanel Hall in downtown Salt Lake City, led by return guest conductor Tito Muñoz. All three works on the program reflect the heritage and personal experiences of their composers-also including Gabriela Lena Frank's Elegía Andina and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10.

Growing up, composer Gabriela Lena Frank was exposed to a wide variety of cultures as the child of a multicultural marriage (her father was of Lithuanian and Jewish descent and her mother had Chinese, Peruvian, and Spanish ancestry). When remembering her childhood and its influence on her composition, Franks stated that "[my] early days were filled with Oriental stir-fry cuisine, Andean nursery songs, and frequent visits from our New York-bred Jewish cousins. It is probably inevitable then that as a composer and pianist today, I continue to thrive on multiculturalism." This multiculturalism is clearly showcased in her piece Elegía Andina, as solo lines for the flute and clarinet dance back and forth, building a picturesque image of the young American's Peruvian heritage. Frank said, "[it's] one of my first written-down compositions to explore what it means to be of several ethnic persuasions, of several minds."

This theme of diversified culture and human experience continues with Florence Price's Piano Concerto. As a young black woman from Arkansas in 1887, Price faced nearly insurmountable hurdles with her desire to compose music. However, a young Price forged ahead with inspiring determination. She played in her first recital at age four and published her first work of composition when she was 11. Fast forward to high school and Price graduated as valedictorian before furthering her music education at the New England Conservatory. Price went on to receive national acclaim, becoming the first Black female composer to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra; the Chicago Symphony Orchestra played the world premiere of her Symphony No. 1 in E minor.

Following her triumph, however, things took a turn for the worse. With the increase of racial discrimination and violence, Price's orchestral accomplishments quickly faded from note and she was mostly forgotten after her death in 1953. Years later, Price has finally been given the recognition she deserves with the rediscovery of her music. In 2009, a cache of Price's music was found and has since been restored through archival efforts-including her Piano Concerto. Immediately appealing, this Piano Concerto draws on the influence of Romantic-era composers as well as African American folk music, is championed by Michelle Cann (a Philadelphia-based pianist who gave its New York Philharmonic premiere and has since introduced it to audiences across the country). Through these efforts, Price is finally taking her place among other composers of note within American canon.

Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10 follows this historic performance. Though the clear interpretation of the work has never been fully confirmed, many believe it to be a depiction of the tragedy, despair, and eventual triumph of the Russian people living under the Stalin regime. Shostakovich inserts himself-and perhaps his own lived experience-into the music by way of his musical signature: D, E-flat, C, B, which in German musical notation is D-S-C-H-shaping his first initial and the first three letters of his last name. This motive is carried through to the finale, joined by horns and trumpets before building to a grand-scale climax that fortifies the triumphant end of a terrifying regime, succeeding in peace at last.

For more information, please visit utahsymphony.org.

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