What does it mean to win a Pulitzer Prize? “It’s a very big deal, publicly,” said composer Steven Stucky, who won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize in Music for his Second Concerto for Orchestra, which was premiered March 12, 2004, by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. “Pulitzers are journalist-oriented, so the publicity machine kicks in for about two days.
“Then, you go back to normal.”
At Sunday’s U.S. premiere of Stucky’s “Spirit Voices” in Aspen, audiences will hear for themselves that his musical disposition is anything but ordinary.
Co-commissioned by the Aspen Music Festival and School and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra for Evelyn Glennie – a percussionist extraordinaire who was named one of The Denver Post’s top picks during the 2004-05 classical music season – “Spirit Voices” will be conducted by Marin Alsop, AMFS alumna and conductor laureate of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.
“The world premiere happened in Singapore in 2003,” said Stucky, 56, coincidentally the same age as the venerated Aspen festival where he was composer-in-residence in 2001. “Since then, it’s been kind of in quarantine. It took a while to organize the American premiere because it depended on Evelyn’s schedule.
“Finally, this is the year. It’s also my first chance to work with Marin. I’m hoping it’s the kind of piece to really engage her.”
Stucky describes Glennie as being not only a great musician, but also the ideal performer to breathe fire into the seven-movement work.
“To write a normal piece for Evelyn Glennie would have been a waste. She’s so dramatic onstage,” he said. “In ‘Spirit Voices,’ she gets to move around a lot, even use her voice. The music puts her in a succession of different moods and dramatic situations presented without pause.
“The overarching programmatic content represents my imagination of what some gods or spirits or mythological characters might sound like. It’s evocative, provocative and entertaining.
“If you haven’t heard my music before, ‘Spirit Voices’ is a great place to start.”
Stucky hopes his Pulitzer distinction will inspire greater interest in his music, from his existing musical output to new works, including a recent commission by Boulder’s Ars Nova Singers and a consortium of three other choral groups. The ensembles will perform the commission next fall.
“The main thing about the prize is that people remember you for it, and maybe they give you a second look,” he said. “If you’re a professional composer, you usually get nominated every year, and you get used to thinking about the Pulitzer as some distant possibility. This year, I’d forgotten to think about it altogether, but it turned out to be my turn.
“The great news for me is that the prize was given for a piece that I think is really good. The concerto is a summing up of what I know about the orchestra, a kind of retrospective of what I’ve been thinking about musically for over 10 years.
“I didn’t have to feel sheepish about winning a prize for it.”
Stucky divvies his time between Ithaca, N.Y., where he teaches at Cornell University, and Los Angeles, where his composer residency with the Los Angeles Philharmonic dates to 1988.
The self-proclaimed foodie, wine aficionado and enthusiastic gardener will return to Aspen on Aug. 20, just before the conclusion of the nine-week festival, to conduct the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble in a performance of his “Boston Fancies,” among other modern works.
Aspen Festival Orchestra
CLASSICAL MUSIC|Benedict Music Tent, Aspen; Marin Alsop, conductor; Evelyn Glennie, percussion, performing Steven Stucky’s “Spirit Voices”; William Bolcom’s “Ragomania: A Classical Overture for Orchestra”; and Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No.4 in E minor, Op. 98; 4 p.m. Sunday|FREE-$65|Call 970-925-9042 or visit aspenmusicfestival.com.
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THE BOX TOPS FEATURING ALEX CHILTON The biggest news in music this week comes from the unlikely KOOL Koncert on Saturday at Coors Amphitheatre. The original Box Tops lineup – including legendary vocalist Alex Chilton, who went on to form Big Star – will bring hits such as “The Letter,” “Soul Deep” and “Cry Like a Baby” to the all-day oldies festival, which also features Little Richard, Paul Revere & the Raiders and The Raspberries.
GREEN MILK FROM THE PLANET ORANGE This Japanese band’s website calls it “The New Wave of Progressive Rock,” which could make for an excellent and unexpected show when the band hits the Hi-Dive on Tuesday. The band’s new release, “City Calls Revolution,” was produced by Paul Mahajan (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Liars, TV on the Radio) and is available in stores now.
– Ricardo Baca
