I have had a long affinity for all things Russian (history, literature, film, fine art, and, especially, music) and I was recently afforded the opportunity to write a piece for the tenor Michael Spyres and The Moscow Chamber Orchestra. Having gained so much from this culture’s dizzyingly vibrant musical tradition, the task of writing a work that might in some small part convey my admiration became quite a daunting task. Ever cognizant of writing in an authentic manner, I knew that I should in no way adjust my own musical language for the occasion, but one thing I did want to do differently was set my text in the native language.
My favorite composer, Dmitri Shostakovich, took great pains to translate his 13th Symphony into German (with the help of Kurt Mazur) and his insistence that a work should be presented in as intelligible a manner as possible to its audience is something I greatly admire and to which I aspire. But not speaking Russian in the least put me considerably out of my depth. So I enlisted the help of my dear friend and collaborator, Ben Pfeiffer, who, aside from being a fantastically talented writer, also studied Russian in college. Ben, ever the perfectionist, then took his translation to Irina Fediunina Six, a Literature and Russian language professor at KU who is a native Russian speaker. The result was an impeccably beautiful translation that I could set without much difficulty.
In the midst of finishing the piece (originally scored for piano and voice per Michael’s request), I received a call from Michael in which he said those 7 words that every composer longs to hear, “can this be for full orchestra instead?” All of sudden my palette went from black paint on white canvas to a rich array of orchestral colors. The resulting piece, partially in English and Russian, is filled with a warm zeal and moments of tender lyricism that I am thrilled to present to the concert-going residents of St. Petersburg!
And this will be all will receive its premiere performance as part of the 2010 Musical Festival St. Petersburg Palaces on November 12.
If you would like to help defray some of the costs associated with my trip to St. Petersburg, please visit www.andrewpauljackson.com/about.html and click the donate button at the bottom of the page. Thank you!
