New music, untried yet true, is always a fantastic experience for any conductor.
“I always find it a challenge to decipher a new score and present it to the public,” said Peabody assistant conductor Paul Kim. “It?s a gratifying feeling.”
The new score to which he refers is Baris Perker?s “Dreamy Dance,” the world premiere of which is this Saturday evening with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra.
In a program devoted entirely to music inspired by dance, Kim, a first-year music diploma student in conducting, has been given what he calls “the rhythmic challenge of any contemporary piece.”
“This is a 10-minute piece, but it?s very personal,” he said. “There is the melody and flavor of [Perker?s] Turkish background of folk music in three-quarter time.”
Perker, who holds a master of music in composition from Peabody Institute, has utilized an ornamental, oriental construction that also features a jazz sound.
“It is a wonderful privilege to have the Peabody Symphony Orchestra performing my piece,” he said. “I?m so excited; it will be an unforgettable program for me.”
Peabody?s guest faculty conductor, Gustav Meier, commands the bulk of the evening?s repertoire as he leads the symphony in Rachmaninoff?s “Symphonic Dances, Op. 45,” and Giuseppe Verdi?s “Ballet Music from ?Macbeth?.”
Maestro Meier, the music director of the Greater Bridgeport Symphony in Connecticut, and recently the music director of the Greater Lansing Symphony Orchestra in Michigan, lists among his former students Marin Alsop, who was recently appointed music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
“Each of the pieces is totally different, from waltz to jazz,” he said.
The Rachmaninoff work was completed in 1940 and premiered in January 1941. “Symphonic Dances” was his last composition, written for and dedicated to Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Verdi?s “Ballet Music from ?Macbeth? ” is rarely played, according to Meier. With the work, the composer had to give in to the convention of the times, structuring the piece for the ballet and dedicating it to the Paris Opera.
Meier promises “a fun program” in this interesting concept for a repertoire that runs the gamut from folksy to jazzy to waltz rhythms.
IF YOU GO
Peabody Symphony Orchestra ? Music Inspired by Dance
» Venue: Peabody?s Miriam A. Friedberg Concert Hall, 17 E. Mount Vernon Place, Baltimore
» Time: 8 p.m. Saturday
» Tickets: $18, $10 for seniors, $8 for students
» More info: 410-659-8100, ext. 2
