The Seattle Symphony “will unveil the first commission of the new season at their concerts of Sept. 22-25: ‘When the City Rules,’ a major orchestral work by Gabriel Prokofiev, who shares the program with music by his famous grandfather (Sergei) and a pair of Beethoven symphonies,” writes Thomas May in Sunday’s (9/18) Seattle Times. “Next month brings ‘In the Shadow of an Unshed Tear,’ a new orchestral work by Polish composer Agata Zubel. ‘When you commission a piece, you take a gamble that is always exciting,’ according to [music director Ludovic] Morlot…. ‘Become Ocean,’ a [Seattle Symphony] commission that premiered in 2013 … won composer John Luther Adams a Pulitzer Prize … and … enhanced the orchestra’s reputation for incubating significant new musical creativity. ‘Commissioning has become a very important part of our mission,’ explains [SSO Vice President of Artistic Planning] Elena Dubinets…. The result is an average of 10 commissions per season—spread out between the main subscription programs, the late-night [untitled] events, and the hugely popular Sonic Evolution series. Music by Gabriel Prokofiev has … already appeared over the past few years [including] in 2014, on Sonic Evolution, when he was part of an SSO collaboration with Sir Mix-A-Lot.”
Posted September 19, 2016
Pictured: Seattle Symphony Music Director Ludovic Morlot with composer Gabriel Prokofiev. Photo by Ben VanHouten
