In Memoriam: Martin Luther King
Evening Music | May 6, 2010
Canadian composer Oskar Morawetz had just been commissioned to write a piece for cellist Mstislav Rostropovich when Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968. In the wake of that tragic event, Morawetz decided to express his shock and grief by turning the work into a meditation on King's extraordinary life. We'll hear Morawetz's "Memorial to Martin Luther King" tonight with cellist Shauna Rolston and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.
We'll also hear music by William Grant Still, who was not only the first African-American to write for a major symphony orchestra (the New York Philharmonic) but also the first to have an opera produced by a major company (the New York City Opera). "In Memoriam" was written for the New York Phil during the second World War; simple yet powerful, it was inspired by the sad irony that African-American soldiers were fighting overseas to secure freedoms that they didn't even enjoy at home.
We'll also hear music by William Grant Still, who was not only the first African-American to write for a major symphony orchestra (the New York Philharmonic) but also the first to have an opera produced by a major company (the New York City Opera). "In Memoriam" was written for the New York Phil during the second World War; simple yet powerful, it was inspired by the sad irony that African-American soldiers were fighting overseas to secure freedoms that they didn't even enjoy at home.
