Musical journeys are celebrated in many ways — from a technical approach to a chronological venture. As usual, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra takes the road less traveled, or in this case, takes on the skies and universe.
The symphony’s 2008-2009 season opener, Gustav Holst’s “The Planets,” is led by music director Marin Alsop and features a dynamic, otherworldly repertoire from three musical genres.
In addition to Holst’s collection of fiery tone poems, the program, which also features dramatic lighting and theatrical effects, will showcase the talents of the women of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, a percussion concerto by a contemporary American composer, the dramatic climax from Wagner’s epic “Ring” cycle and an award-winning percussion soloist, who just happens to be deaf.
The program opens with the orchestral accompaniment to Brunnhilds’ Immolation Scene from Wagner’s “Gotterdammerung” (Twilight of the Gods). In this climactic scene, signaling the fall of the gods of Valhalla and the salvation of mortal man, the heavens explode into all-consuming flames.
From the sky to galaxies far, far away, composer Michael Daugherty’s “UFO” takes its inspiration from America’s obsession with unidentified flying objects.
“[In ‘UFO’] the soloist is introduced as an alien, arriving unexpectedly and playing mysterious percussion instruments,” Daugherty said. “During the three major sections of the composition — ‘Unidentified,’ ‘Flying’ and ‘Objects’ — the soloist travels to different percussion stations on the stage.”
The featured percussionist, Dame Evelyn Glennie, is one of the most eclectic and innovative musicians on the scene today. She is also tenacious. As the world’s first full-time solo percussionist, she graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in London at the age of 19 to pursue a professional career in music.
Her obstacles toward that end would seem to be insurmountable to some. Glennie went deaf at the age of 8. But her early love of piano was a force to reckon with. She studied percussion instruments, and on any given concerto (she has had 150 commissioned for her) will play up to 60 or 70, depending on the repertoire or the size of the stage.
In “UFO,” she will perform on standard percussion instruments and on unusual ones, such as a waterphone and spring.
“Feeling the music, the listening is done by using the body as a resonating chamber,” Glennie said. “[My deafness] is what it is, and I do what I do.”
If you go
Holst’s “The Planets”
Venue: Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St., Baltimore
When: 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 3 p.m. Sunday
Venue: The Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
- Tickets: $25 to $80
- Info: 410-783-8000 or bsomusic.org
