“The genesis of American Visions stems from my friendship with the eminent Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, who was a Visiting Professor at New York University in the 1990’s, and for a semester lived across the hall from me in NYU faculty housing. As we got to know each other, I found myself more and more taken both with the drama and beautiful language of his poetry. Yevtushenko himself chose the first poem of the two-movement cycle, Who are you, Grand Canyon?, and to complement it and sustain the American theme, I selected Requiem for Challenger.
The cycle was first premiered in a chamber version by the Da Capo Chamber Players (with the poet in attendance), and performed by them on quite a few occasions subsequently, including on tour in Russia. A decade later, I had an opportunity to create a version of the work for orchestra---a version I had always intended to compose--for a concert celebrating the 90th anniversary of the New York University Department of Music.
The poem, “Who are you, Grand Canyon, portrays the vast expanse of the canyon as a mirror of history, with imagery ranging from “Che Guevara’s cigar” to “stone apple pie.” It reaches to a “Whitmanesque” tradition, as writer Robert Carl notes, and invites grand gestures in its musical rendering. The second song is more subdued, but for balance, it too seemed to require a climax of marked intensity. The work is approximately 26 minutes in length.” LK
First performance:
Thomas Meglioranza, baritone, David Dzubay, conductor
Orchestra of the League of Composers
the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at New York University, May 7, 2012
Discs
