“San Antonio Symphony Music Director Sebastian Lang-Lessing is introducing new work to audiences through short commissioned pieces at the start of each concert,” writes Deborah Martin in Friday’s (10/24) San Antonio Express-News (Texas). “The symphony has commissioned 14 new works—dubbed American Preludes—as part of its 75th anniversary season.” Last weekend the orchestra performed Promenade for Orchestra by Antonio Carlos DeFeo; other composers include Jean-Louis Agobet, Doug Balliett, Michael Daugherty, Detlev Glanert, Pedro Halffter, Aaron Jay Kernis, Peter Lieuwen, Randall Meyers, Alexander Miller, Juan David Osorio, Robert X. Rodriguez, Daniel Bernard Roumain, and Xi Wang. “ ‘We have people who are like the Coplands of nowadays, and maybe we have the Coplands in the making,’ Lang-Lessing said…. Orchestras across the country regularly commission new work, said Rachelle Schlosser, director of media relations for the League of American Orchestras. But the number and breadth of the commissions here makes the American Preludes programming stand out…. ‘If you do just one larger commission, it doesn’t reach everyone and it doesn’t give that much variety, and this one does,’ Lang-Lessing said. ‘I think it’s a wonderful project. We’ve been getting amazing scores.’ ”
Posted October 29, 2014
