By Kate Lochte
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkms/local-wkms-891728.mp3
Murray, KY – Conductor Glen Cortese directs The Paducah Symphony Orchestra in a concert he titled Heroes and Legends tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at the Carson Center. The Orchestra is previewing conductors for its artistic director position and Maestro Cortese is the 4th and final candidate. The Manhattan School of Music alumnus and New York resident is currently in his third season with the Greeley Philharmonic, his fifth season with the Western New York Chamber Orchestra, and his seventh season with the Oregon Mozart Players. He spoke with Kate Lochte earlier this week.
K.L. What interests you about coming to Paducah?
G.C. There's great support here in Paducah and in a lot of smaller cities I've been to in the South where I've been to for the arts. And a real passion to have something that they're proud of in their community. I think any conductor would be proud to be in a community where there's such support for arts organizations - that makes it very attractive. There's a terrific concert hall here. It's a really wonderful group of musicians and all the way around I think it could be a really fun place to develop the ensemble and to meet some of the challenges that are going on to create something wonderful.
K.L. Tell me about the program you'll be conducting Saturday.
G.C. I've titled the program Heroes and Legends and there are three different characters from tradition and literature that are represented and they're all heroes in different ways. We're opening the program with an overture by Hector Berlioz called the King Lear Overture. What happens in this piece, Berlioz represents several aspects of Lear. There's a theme that's called King Lear's theme this is in Berlioz' own words. Then there's a foil to that theme called Cordelia's theme. The reason I love this work is that it's so typical of Berlioz. It draws a lot from the inspiration of Beethoven but it's very experimental- has a lot of interesting harmonic twists for the day and has a really rousing sort of exciting close so it's a perfect way to open a concert. The next work on the program is by Rachmaninoff and it's called a Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. He really brought the violin to become a virtuosic solo instrument in a way that I think no one before him really had - so much so that there are rumors that Paganini made some sort of deal with the devil to be able to play as well as he did. He had flawless technique, transcendental technique, where the physical part of his playing became completely secondary to what he could express. It was so facile and incredible that he could pretty much play anything. This piece is a set of 24 variations for piano based on a theme of Paganini. Through the course of the piece Rachmaninoff weaves in the theme of "Dies Irae", the plainchant for the Mass for the Departed, so it sort of has this little dark corner in it that weaves its way throughout the piece, representing that sort of devilish side of Paganini - very very virtuosic work for the piano. Our pianist's name is Lei Weng. Lei actually teaches at the University of Northern Colorado where my orchestra is in Greely and we've worked together before. When the Paducah Symphony asked me to supply them with names for soloists I thought it would be wonderful to bring him here. He's an exquisite pianist and he's going to do a tremendous job doing what's an extremely challenging and virtuosic work. And the second half of the program focuses on one character in two different lights. We're going to be playing the Overture from Mozart's Don Giovanni, which is a very short work. And then we'll follow that with Strauss' Tone Poem on Don Juan, so we're really looking at the same character through two different sets of classes. One by a composer from the classical period and one from the late romantic period so it's going to be kind of an interesting foil to hear how these two composers kind of paint a picture as to who Don Juan was. The Strauss is much more detailed in that way. It uses some text of Lenau to sort of base the sort of course of the tone poem to base to follow what happens in the Don's adventures. The Mozart more just sets the atmosphere for his opera, but the opening is very serious, very bold and intense, and kind of represents what happens to the Don at the end of his life and then the rest of the overture is very light weight and sort of paints the picture of this sort of care-free existence he had through the course of his life. It will be wonderful to have these two pieces look at the same person but from a very different point of view.
K.L. I assume that you compose because you are very passionate about it and find great enjoyment in it. What other things make you as a human being enjoy the day? What do you do for fun?
G.C. Well um, first to answer the question about composition. I compose because I love it, but I also compose because I get asked to compose. It really is part of my job. It's very enjoyable as the conducting is but I get commissioned relatively regularly. I get asked two or three times a year for works for either orchestra or chamber ensemble. So it really is part of how I make a living, not just a hobby. But I do have hobbies. A couple of them are fine woodworking. I build furniture, very much in the style of the arts and crafts period. I also enjoy hiking quite a bit and nature. I guess those are the two principal ways I spend my time outside of work.
Conductor, composer Glen Cortese directs The Paducah Symphony Orchestra at the Carson Center tomorrow night at 7:30 at the Carson Center. For tickets and more information call the Symphony at 270-444-0065. The Symphony is previewing conductors for its artistic director position and Maestro Cortese is the 4th and final candidate.