“When composer Richard Danielpour [in photo] was a teenager, he heard [Bach’s] ‘St. Matthew Passion’ for the first time, and … ‘it was one of those moments that pushed me into knowing that I was going to be a composer for the rest of my life,’ ” reports Peter Hall on Wednesday (4/10) at Buffalo radio station WBFO. Danielpour and Buffalo Philharmonic Music Director JoAnn Falletta “go way back…. She was the conductor who gave Danielpour his first professional performance with a major American orchestra. When they ran into one another in 2007 Falletta told the composer: ‘We really have to do something again, but it needs to be really big.’ … And so it came to be, a 100 minute-long dramatic oratorio for orchestra, choruses, and five soloists with 14 scenes which chronicles the last day in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. The East Coast premiere of The Passion of Yeshua is this weekend with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus. Hila Plittman sings the role of Mary Magdalen and J’Nai Bridges sings the role of Mary, or Myriam … singing in both English and Hebrew.” The performances will be recorded live at Kleinhans Music Hall for release on Naxos.
Posted April 12, 2019
Richard Danielpour photo by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
