The two-time GRAMMY Award-winning Albany Symphony, led by Music Director David Alan Miller, presents a concert that includes one of the most beloved works in the repertory and a soon-to-be new favorite “dance symphony,” evoking early rock ‘n’ roll at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall.
Recognized as one of America’s most innovative and creative orchestras, the two-time GRAMMY Award-winning Albany Symphony is renowned for performances featuring classic orchestral favorites, lesser-heard masterworks, and a diverse array of new music from leading and emerging voices of today. The Symphony has received more ASCAP Awards than any other orchestra in America, as well as several GRAMMY nominations, including the orchestra’s most recent win in 2021.
Led by Music Director David Alan Miller, the Symphony presents a core classical series throughout the region, each featuring a world-premiere or recent composition; a multi-day American Music Festival that celebrates established and emerging living composers; performances by its cutting-edge new music chamber ensemble, the Dogs of Desire; and a family series and holiday concerts in collaboration with youth performing arts groups. The Albany Symphony’s award-winning education programs include Symphony in Our Schools, which brings musicians into classrooms for interactive music education.
Founded in 1930 in New York’s Capital Region, the Albany Symphony serves a diverse regional audience covering more than seven counties and parts of three states. It regularly serves as an ambassador for new music and Upstate innovation beyond the Capital Region.
This gorgeous concert will absolutely delight you, bringing two Romantic masterpieces together with Michael Daugherty’s amazing orchestral tour-de-forces. I’m particularly excited to present Tchaikovsky’s glorious Third Symphony, the work of a brilliant young composer that leads the way directly to his major masterpieces, ‘Swan Lake’ and the Symphony No. 4. Strauss’ ‘Blue Danube,’ and Michael’s ‘Last Dance at the Surf,’ will make everyone want to jump up and dance, and ‘To the New World,’ a riveting tribute to Neil Armstrong and the Apollo 11 mission, is a glorious tone poem about space travel. Audiences of all ages will love this program!
Music Director and Conductor David Alan Miller.
Michael Daugherty, a composer, pianist, and music educator is a long-time friend of the Albany Symphony. Two of Daugherty’s pieces will be performed including, “Last Dance at the Surf” and “To the New World.”
One of Daugherty’s favorite road trips in Iowa, the state where he grew up, was to the majestic Surf Ballroom. Many of America’s famous swing, jazz, and rock-n-roll bands have performed at this venue for music lovers who dance the night away. In memory of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and The Big Bopper who gave their last performances at the Winter Dance Party tour in 1959 before their plane crashed, and in celebration of the Surf Ballroom being declared a National Historic Landmark in January 2021, Daugherty’s piece will be performed on the November program.
“My dance symphony starts with woodblocks and pizzicato strings, playing a five-note rhythmic groove reminiscent of a Buddy Holly guitar riff. This groove is repeated in various transformations throughout the composition and provides a counterpoint to the main theme, a syncopated ascending melody played in unison by the woodwinds. The main theme goes through elaborate rhythmic and timbral developments, followed by a rousing ‘rockabilly’ section,” Daugherty said.
His piece “To the New World,” is about the 1969 Apollo-11 space mission. Like the rocket, which separated into three stages after lift-off, and the spacecraft, which was divided into three modules, his 22-minute composition is divided into three movements.
“The Blue Danube” is one of the most consistently played pieces in classical repertoire. Johann Strauss Jr. originally wrote the work for a carnival choir with satirical lyrics. The instrumental version, which will be performed at the November concert, is by far the more popular version played today. The piece was first performed in the United States in 1867. For pop culture fans, the piece is used in several movies and shows. Most recently, it was used throughout the 2021 Netflix series, Squid Game. Johann Strauss Jr. was born into a very musical family in Austria. As a child, he secretly took violin lessons because his father wanted him to become a banker, not a musician. However, his mother supported his dreams and Strauss moved forward making music his career.
The evening will conclude with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 3 also known as Polish. It is the only one of Tchaikovsky’s seven symphonies that is in a major key and the only one to contain five movements. During its first performance in the UK, conductor Sir August Manns referred to it as the Polish symphony because of the recurring Polish dance rhythms in the final movement. The piece was originally premiered in 1875 in Moscow. Ballet lovers may recognize the work from the Diamonds section of George Balanchine’s full-length ballet Jewels premiered in 1967.
The Albany Symphony November Concert will take place at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall on Saturday, November 11, and Sunday, November 12.
For ticket information, visit this website.
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