“The Arkansas Symphony takes the stage Saturday and Sunday … for … the world premiere of ‘Pasajes’ by Cuban-American composer Tania León that the orchestra co-commissioned,” led by guest conductor Akiko Fujimoto, writes Eric E. Harrison in Thursday’s (4/7) Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock). “It’s [Fujimoto’s] first time to tackle a piece by León, she says. ‘And I’m excited to collaborate with her on the ground.’ … León confirms she’ll be in Little Rock through the rehearsal process and into the following week, when the orchestra’s Rockefeller Quartet … plays her ‘Cuarteto No. 2’ … Tuesday.… ‘Pasajes’ (Spanish for ‘Passages’) … lasts only 12 minutes…. The Arkansas Symphony is the lead commissioner, under a grant from New Music USA’s ‘Amplifying Voices’ program…. Sharing the commission: the National Symphony in Washington; the Detroit Symphony; the Orlando (Fla.) Philharmonic; and the Auburn (Wash.) Symphony. But the piece receives its premiere here…. León … says each ‘passage’ in the piece ‘is a fresh idea….. It’s like going to a museum and looking at a canvas that you have seen before. This is a new way of painting; like Picasso or Monet, but with a new palette.’ ” Also on the program with Pasajes: music by Strauss and Mozart.
Change font size
