How often does one have the opportunity to attend a world premiere of a new musical composition? On Saturday, September 29, 2007, the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra will be opening their new season with a world premiere of Douglas Townsend's Overture Concertante.
Born on November 8, 1921, Townsend began composing as a high school student at New York's High School of Music and Art and studied with various teachers including Tibor Serly, Stefan Wolpe, Aaron Copland, and Otto Luening. He taught at the university level, served as editor of Musical Heritage Review, and was the recipient of research grants from the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund and the New York State Council on the Arts. His new work is distinguished by its use of solo instruments which reflects the inherent contrasts of certain orchestral colors. It is fittingly dedicated to bassoonist Dr. Richard Epstein and his wife Ina Chadwick.
Stravinsky's spectacular Firebird Suite and Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 performed by the young virtuoso Yuja Wang round out the program. In 2001, Ms. Wang won the first prize in the Junior Group of the Seiler International Piano Competition and also received the Special Jury Award at the First Japan Sendai International Music Competition. On July 1, she substituted for Boris Berezovsky at the Aspen Music Festival, playing the Piano Concerto No. 1 with Osmo Vänskä conducting.
The Library invites you to check out Stravinsky's Firebird Suite and Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto #1.