“As maestro for the Phoenix Symphony, it’s Tito Muñoz’s job to interpret masterworks by Mozart, Beethoven and Stravinsky,” writes Kerry Lengel in Monday’s (5/18) Arizona Republic. “But after one year on the job, it seems his guiding philosophy actually comes from the Beatles: He gets by with a little help from his friends. Next weekend, the final concerts of Muñoz’s inaugural season will open with ‘Finding Rothko,’ a 2006 work by 34-year-old Los Angeles composer Adam Schoenberg. The performance will be accompanied by video projections of the paintings that inspired each of the four movements. ‘Adam is actually a friend of mine, and I’ve been championing his music,’ says Muñoz, 31. ‘And then the Bruch Violin Concerto (No. 1) is with a great friend, Giora Schmidt, who is one of the best violinists in the world.’ … The friendly trend will continue into the conductor’s recently announced second season, which will spotlight contemporary works by Schoenberg and fellow American composers Missy Mazzoli, Andrew Norman, Sean Shepherd and (a world premiere by) Daron Hagen. ‘They’re all people I know very well,’ Muñoz says. ‘Because of the entrepreneurial vibe of the town, I think there’s an openness to new ideas.’ ”
Posted May 20, 2015
