Maestro David Amado is back with another season of ACO's Masterworks Series. On January 9, 2025 the orchestra will delight audiences in Vero Beach and Stuart with selections that celebrate the golden age of Hollywood movie scores. Here is what Amado has to say about this exciting upcoming performance.
Before movies cornered the market on epic sweep and drama, that thrill came from the
symphony hall, the opera house, or the theater. Our first Masterworks pays tribute to four
composers—two from Hollywood, and two from Russia—and all masters of high drama.
Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s music for the 1940 classic The Sea Hawk starring Errol Flynn and
Claude Rains begins our program. Korngold, fulfilling the prophecy of his middle name, was a prodigy of Mozartian proportions. Born in Austria in 1897, he was exposed to the glittering finde siecle aesthetics of Mahler, Puccini, Strauss and Zemlinsky. As an eleven-year-old,
Korngold composed Der Schneemann for the Vienna Court Opera—a work of extraordinary
beauty and complexity that remains in the repertoire. Korngold opulent musical language was a perfect fit for the burgeoning film industry.
Maximilian Raoul Steiner’s trajectory is nearly identical to Korngold’s. Born in Austria in 1888, he too was a prodigy—conducting his first operetta when we was twelve. Steiner composed more than 300 film scores for RKO and Warner Brother, winning three Academy Awards. His score for Casablanca (1942) puts Steiner’s skill in fusing musical cohesion with dramatic function, all while folding in exotic North African aesthetics.
Rachmaninoff (1873-1943), unlike Korngold and Steiner, established his career in the concert
halls of the old world rather than the movie palaces of the new. Rachmaninoff self-identified as a composer, but the world saw him first as a pianist—the greatest of his generation.
Rachmaninoff’s piano performances subsidized his passion for composing. While he was
universally praised as a pianist, his compositions were not always received with the same
enthusiasm. His First Symphony in particular was such a disaster (mostly due to the deadly
combination of lack of rehearsal and a drunk conductor), that its performance sent
Rachmaninoff into a deep depression accompanied by seemingly impenetrable writer’s block. It was only after sessions with the analyst Nikolai Dahl that he was able to compose again. He came out of those sessions swinging—writing his Second Piano Concerto, and dedicating it to his doctor. The work’s drama, virtuosity, and luxurious, sweeping melodies, gives it universal appeal. Its material has been mined by pop musicians (Full Moon and Empty Arms),and film composers (The Seven Year Itch, September Affair, Brief Encounter). In spite of his anachronistic style, his music has become some of the most enduringly beloved by modern audiences.
Tchaikovsky, like Rachmaninoff, had a sometimes-strained relationship with his craft. As a young professor at the Moscow Conservatory, he wrote a symphonic poem that was conducted by his mentor Mily Balakirev, who said the piece contained “appalling cacophony” with “seams showing, and clumsy stitching”. Tchaikovsky destroyed the piece. But, as a testament to his respect for his teacher, he continued to correspond, and take guidance and advice from him. Balakirev suggested he write a work based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Balakirev even suggested the nature of the various themes, as well as key relationships. The resulting work, dedicated to Balakirev, was not a success. It took two substantial revisions to create the masterpiece we love today. Finished in 1880, but not premiered until 1886, it is a work that has become firmly rooted in popular culture thanks to its clear, dramatic expression, and its ravishing love theme. The work’s dramatic contrast and emotional sweep ensure it remains among Tchaikovsky’s most iconic works.
Atlantic Classical Orchestra performances are held at the Community Church of Vero Beach and The Lyric Theatre in Stuart. For dates, times, and tickets, click HERE or call the box office at 772-460-0851