Friday marks the 50th anniversary to the day of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. The Utah Symphony will commemorate the event with a program that includes two works written to honor the slain president: Igor Stravinsky’s Elegy for JFK and Peter Lieberson’s Remembering JFK (An American Elegy).
Thierry Fischer
Stravinsky’s piece was written in the months following the assassination. It’s scored for three flutes and mezzo-soprano and sets four haikus written by W.H. Auden about Kennedy. Abigail Levis is the singer.
Lieberson’s work was commissioned in 2010 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Kennedy’s inauguration. The composer uses words taken from Kennedy’s speeches and weaves these throughout the orchestral fabric. Edward Herrmann will narrate.
Music director Thierry Fischer, who will conduct, was a child when Kennedy was killed. “I was skiing in the mountains with my family when I heard the news,” Fischer told Reichel Recommends. “I was a very small boy, but it still hit me. It was a shock and I remember discussing what happened with my family.”
Fischer feels that this concert is also an excellent opportunity to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Benjamin Britten’s birthday. To mark this milestone, he has chosen two works, An American Overture and the Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Purcell, better known as the Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.
Rounding out the concert is Carl Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4, The Inextinguishable.
“The Nielsen has all the drama of the Kennedy assassination,” Fischer said. “You know I believe in symbols,” he added. “This symphony symbolically represents the moment.”
Fischer said he enjoyed putting these works together. “This is not an easy program, but it is a great program.”
- CONCERT DETAILS
- What: Utah Symphony, Thierry Fischer, conductor
- Venue: Abravanel Hall
- Time and Date: 8 p.m. Nov. 22-23
- Tickets: start at $18 ($5 higher when purchased on day of performance)
- Phone: 801-355-2787, 888-451-2787
- Web: www.utahsymphony.org