The Symphony by the American composer

Steven Stucky Steven Edward Stucky (November 7, 1949 − February 14, 2016) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer. Life and career Steven Stucky was born in Hutchinson, Kansas. At age 9, he moved with his family to Abilene, Texas, where, as a teenager ...

is a four-movement

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

for

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

. The work was jointly commissioned by the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

and the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...

. It was composed from January through July 2012 and premiered September 28, 2012 at the

Walt Disney Concert Hall The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center and was designed by Frank Gehry. It was opened on October 23, 2003. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Av ...

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, with

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

Gustavo Dudamel Gustavo Adolfo Dudamel Ramírez (born 26 January 1981) is a Venezuelan conductor. He is currently the music director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He is scheduled to become the Music and Artistic ...

leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The work had its

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

premiere November 29, 2012, with Alan Gilbert leading the New York Philharmonic.

Composition

The symphony has a duration of approximately twenty minutes and is composed in four connected

movements Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger c ...

: #Introduction and Hymn #Outcry #Flying #Hymn and Reconciliation Stucky had previously written four other symphonies, but has since withdrawn all of them, saying, "I wrote two when I was a little boy, and I have no idea what unholy mash-up those were. Then I wrote a symphony when I was a senior in college, and then one for my doctoral thesis, and I'm sure those have been completely expunged from the record." He therefore remarked "It was not sensible to call this piece Symphony No. 5" and elected to simply title the new work "Symphony." Stucky also described the piece as "old fashioned" and said, "It has recognizable themes which come back. That links it to the traditional form." The work is dedicated to the flutist Mimi Stillman.

Reception

Reviewing the New York City premiere,

Anthony Tommasini Anthony Carl Tommasini (born April 14, 1948) is an American music critic and author who specializes in classical music. Described as "a discerning critic, whose taste, knowledge and judgment have made him a must-read", Tommasini was the chief c ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' praised the accessibility of the Symphony and called it "a fairly modest piece, a 20-minute, colorfully orchestrated work in four parts, played without break." Despite giving the piece an overall positive review, Tommasini nevertheless opined, "Mr. Stucky perhaps achieved his goal of writing a graspable symphony too well. I was engrossed in the work right through, and Mr. Gilbert drew an exciting performance from the orchestra. But the music may give away its secrets too readily."

References

{{Steven Stucky Compositions by Steven Stucky 2012 compositions Stucky Compositions for symphony orchestra Music commissioned by the New York Philharmonic Music commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic