Among its countless evils, Nazi Germany mangled the course of 20th-century musical history by killing or squelching some of the era’s most promising composers and doing everything it could to annihilate their legacy.
Spurred by conductor James Conlon and others, organizations around the world, including the New York Philharmonic and Aspen Music Festival, have attempted to resurrect this lost music and restore these overlooked composers to their rightful place in history.
“Hope From Despair,” a weekend homage to some of these World War II musical figures, will be a highlight of the Colorado Symphony’s 2007-08 season, which opens Sept. 20 with a Russian program featuring pianist Olga Kern and runs through June 6, 2008.
Jeffrey Kahane, the orchestra’s music director, will open the tribute April 11-12, leading works by such composers as Viktor Ullmann and Wladyslaw Szpilman, who inspired the film “The Pianist.” The April 13 program will include Henryk Górecki’s Symphony No. 3, “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs,” which deals with the pain and loss of war.
“I think the weekend as whole will be a very moving experience for all of us onstage and in the hall,” Kahane said from Toronto.
The 2007-08 Masterworks lineup will feature orchestra debuts by an array of veteran and up-and-coming artists ranging from classical guitarist Sharon Isbin (Feb. 29-March 1, 2008) to 19-year-old violinist Nicola Benedetti, BBC’s Young Musician of the Year in 2004 (March 28-30,2008).
Of particular note will be a rare concert by soprano Renée Fleming, one of the most admired singers of our time. She will join the orchestra Sept. 29 for Richard Strauss’ “Four Last Songs” and selected arias.
“That’s going to be a tremendous event,” Kahane said. “It’s a coup that she’s coming. She’s not an easy artist to book.”
Kahane also is excited about the Denver debut Nov. 30-Dec. 2 of Ingrid Fliter, a little-known Argentinian pianist thrust into the international spotlight last year when she received the $300,000 Gilmore Artist Award.
“She is one of these people who somehow got discovered much later than she should have been,” he said. “She is, for my money, one of the finest pianists I’ve heard in many, many years.”
As has been the case during the two previous seasons under Kahane’s leadership, 2007-08 will include an array of works never before performed by the orchestra, ranging from Haydn’s Symphony No. 98 to Magnus Lindberg’s “Fresco.”
“I’ve made a big point of looking for new music, not only in the sense of pieces that are recently composed but pieces that are new to the repertoire of the orchestra, and there are quite a number of those,” he said.
The conductor cited two in particular, Mendelssohn’s little-heard choral work, “The First Walpurgis Night” (Oct. 5-7), which he called a “supreme masterpiece,” and Edward Elgar’s Symphony No. 1 (Oct. 19-20).
After growing to five offerings this season, the spotlight series is being eliminated in 2007-08. It began with one concert designed as a kind of preview and then evolved into a series of stand-alone concerts.
“Although we had success with it, we felt that after three years, the program served its purpose, ran it course,” said Gene Sobczak, the symphony’s executive vice president. “Not every series we develop has to have a perpetual shelf life.”
To compensate for the loss of the spotlight the orchestra has expanded the family series from five to six offerings and boosted its pops lineup from 17 to 20 concerts. The eclectic diversity of pops artists will range from Robert Goulet (Oct. 12) to a Nov. 10 tribute to the Dave Matthews Band.
Season subscriptions are available beginning today and the first round of single tickets is expected to go on sale in late July. Call 303-623-7876 or visit coloradosymphony.org.
Fine arts critic Kyle MacMillan can be reached at 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com.
