August 13, 2025

In my last post I mentioned that Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony stood alone in the symphonic output, and now I’m going to say the same about Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra. So how many works out there really do “stand alone”? I’m reminded of an observation by my late friend Michael Scearce who once commented on a young person’s appearance saying “he’s trying to be ‘alternative’ like all the other people who are ‘alternative’ ”. Michael said that decades ago and it still makes me laugh.
 
So yes, there are several works from the first half of 20th century that stand alone, both from what came before, from what followed, and from what was happening at the time. It was a time of divergence of existing stylistic threads and the establishment of new ones; a time of experimentation…of the shockingly new, or the blending of the old and new, and as a result, a time that spawned many iconic works.  
 
Prokofiev’s symphony came from 1944, Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra from 1943. The dust was settling somewhat after the shaking of the earth created by such innovative works as Debussy’s Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, (1894) and Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps, (1913), but composers were of course still pushing the envelope. Interestingly enough, Prokofiev and Bartok’s works were packaged under old-timey titles like “symphony” and “concerto” and certainly the styles of these works were more conservative than some of their contemporaries. As we look back now, some 80 years hence, these two works still feel fresh, relevant, impactful and most of all, timeless.
 
I want to pause and share a personal moment of gratitude. I was fortunate enough to get to conduct both of these iconic works with two terrific orchestras within a span of 5 days. That made for an exciting (and busy) week, and one that I will not forget anytime soon.
 
The Bartok was the final work on our last program of Chautauqua’s 2025 Music School Festival Orchestra season, a bittersweet moment for sure. We opened the concert with Michael Torke’s Javelin, a guilty pleasure of mine, and Tchaikovsky’s Francesca da Rimini, the latter conducted by 2025 Conducting Fellow Hannah Schendel. It was an immensely challenging program for the orchestra, but you wouldn’t know it to have heard them. They were wonderful.
 
It has been a rich and memorable summer here with these extraordinary young musicians. I miss them already!
 
NEXT UP
 
October 4, 2025
 
 
Lansing Symphony Orchestra
MSU Choirs and Choral Union
7:30 p.m.
Wharton Center for the Performing Arts
East Lansing, Michigan
 
Jocelyn HAGEN           The Notebooks of  Leonardo da Vinci
HOLST                         The Planets
 
#musicschoolfestivalorchestra #chautauquainstitution #msfo