Many events of our lives whir by, largely unobserved. But every once in a while, something stops us. That’s what happened one day when a young boy was watching his Saturday morning TV. The show was Leonard Bernstein’s CBS classic (1958-70) Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic.
“I was 9 years old,” conductor Peter Bay says. “I decided right then and there to be a conductor.”
This weekend, 56 years later, Bay takes the baton to lead the Monterey Symphony in the second of their four-concert season that doubles as auditions for the role as the nonprofit’s new conductor and musical director. (The first candidate up was Donato Cabrera, with two concerts in February.) It will open with a piece the orchestra has not performed since their debut concert 75 years ago.
“Doing the [Jean] Sibelius again after so long is a perfect link to our inaugural concert,” Symphony Executive Director Nicola Reilly says.
The composer’s Finlandia (1899) is also most noted for a hymn-like middle section that struck such a nerve in the country upon its release that lyrics were written for it and it is now known as Finland’s unofficial national anthem.
“It is a powerful piece,” Bay says. “Let’s not forget that it caused a revolution in Finland as a call to reject Russian aggression into Finland at the time, not at all unlike their aggression in Ukraine right now.”
Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto, Opus 14 (1939) comes next. The work almost missed the light of day, rejected by critics as being both not violinistic enough and unplayably difficult, to the degree that its premiere was canceled. It now ranks as one of the most performed pieces in the modern canon. Visiting for this solo performance is violinist Simone Porter.
“In my opinion, Barber’s “Movement 2” is among the most wonderful passages ever written for the violin,” Reilly says.
Aaron Copland’s revered Symphony #3 finishes the outing. “I have always been attracted to Copland’s music, primarily for his fusion of American folk music into the classical canon,” Bay says. “Here he does that but also goes the extra mile and adds in a powerful emotional punch.”
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