The pandas at the National Zoo in Washington DC immediately caught my attention right before a concert at Bard College’s Fisher Center on October 6th. This concert was part of the annual China Now Music Festival that takes place at Bard and various venues in Manhattan. During the opening remarks, Jindong Cai, the conductor and festival director, spoke about the current challenges and obstacles to cultural exchange. The situation of the pandas in Washington served as strong evidence to support his point. Recently, I learned that these pandas, along with others in American zoos, have been on loan and will be returning to their homeland in December.
In international affairs, properties can be withdrawn and exchange programs can be halted, but the same is not true for music, which constantly moves forward. The extraordinary concert showcased the works of five Chinese composers who immigrated to the United States, received education here, and found success in their careers. The concert represented three generations, each resembling a chapter in a storybook. Their music not only reflected the geopolitical forces at play but also the musical styles prevalent during their respective eras.
The late Chou Wen-Chung’s “And The Fallen Petals” (1953) exuded an austere, guarded, and slightly mournful language. Due to the postwar mindset, nationalistic elements were merely hinted at and whispered. On the other hand, the works by Li Shaosheng and Zhou Juan, representing the third generation, proudly and boldly displayed familiar and sometimes cliched gestures and sound effects of the East. Instead of being nostalgic, their focus seemed populist and cinematic.
The middle generation was represented by formidable works from Chen Yi and Zhou Long. This married couple, residents of Kansas City, celebrated their 70th birthdays this year. Both composers demonstrated a voracious ability to claim and repurpose elements of world culture through their exceptional craftsmanship and surprising orchestration. Chen’s “Symphony No. 3: My Musical Journey to America” infused an urban brashness, while Zhou’s percussion-heavy “Beijing Rhyme” evoked a shadowy sci-fi thrill.
The Orchestra Now, led by Chen Bing and Jindong Cai, delivered confident and persuasive performances. The majority of the orchestra consists of young musicians.
SSSO – Different Yet the Same
Following the unveiling of its new name in the late spring, the Schenectady-Saratoga Symphony Orchestra enters a new era with back-to-back concerts in its home cities. Music director Glen Cortese will lead an all-American program on October 21st at Skidmore College’s Zankel Music Center in Saratoga Springs. The orchestra will perform the same program on October 22nd at Proctors, its long-standing home venue in Schenectady. The program includes a piano concerto by Barber, selections by Corigliano and Williams, and Copland’s “Billy the Kid” Suite.
The orchestra’s name change and extended home base came a year after it became a member of Proctors Collaborative, a consortium led by the influential Schenectady venue that also includes Capital Repertory Theatre and Universal Preservation Hall. The orchestra remains an independent nonprofit with its own board. Robert Bour, a retired marketing and sales executive, has served as the board’s president since 2005. Since the partnership with Proctors, Bour states that he has been sleeping better at night due to the smoother operations and improved fundraising efforts.
Bour attributes the orchestra’s newfound success in fundraising to the management at Proctors. In addition to the largest state grant in its history, the orchestra has received new gifts from private foundations and community initiatives. These generous contributions have allowed for the purchase of a new xylophone and conductor’s podium. However, Bour hopes to see increased individual donations, which witnessed a rise during COVID but have since returned to previous levels. The orchestra’s expansion to a second city provides opportunities for new funding at different levels. Bour emphasizes the need for board members representing the Saratoga region.
Artistic connections with Saratoga are already significant. The orchestra performed its first indoor concert after the pandemic at Universal Preservation Hall, marking the venue’s first live event since the shutdown. Over the past two seasons, the orchestra collaborated with artists from Skidmore’s music department to present concert versions of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” and Britten’s “Turn of the Screw.” This collaboration extends to May 2024 with J. Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus,” which will be performed at Skidmore’s Zankel Hall utilizing the orchestra pit. Additionally, Cortese serves as the leader of the school’s orchestra program for his second year.
Looking ahead to the rest of the season, the orchestra will perform twice more in Saratoga and twice more at Proctors. The January 21st concert at Proctors will feature William Lauricella, a senior at Bethlehem Central High, as the soloist in Rachmaninoff’s demanding Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor. The season concludes with Saratoga Voices joining the orchestra for Mozart’s Requiem, which will be performed at Universal Preservation Hall in late May.
