When Love Grows Up: A Program

When your first symphony shares its premiere with performances of Les Toreadors and Symphonie Fantastique, at least you know the house will provide its own dramatic energy. No stranger to drama himself, Thomas Pasatieri has orchestrated films and staged operas and wears shoulder-length hair. At 65, however, he had never premiered a symphony--until tonight.

Pasatieri's piece was not shy about its Hollywood connections. A single movement in three sections, its score ranges widely, including both long virtuosic solos and massive tutti passages that demand and reward full harmonic series. Now militant, now lyrical, now overpowering, the 3D soundscape is perfectly at home in large spaces. While not perfect, the UKSO under John Nardolillo was convincing. The effect, though, was better at the end than the beginning.

The piece begins with profound stage whispers lying forcibly still between brassy cannonades. This contrast of forces immediately sets up an epic distance between heights and the depths, between publicity and intimacy. So my first disappointment was the entrance of the theme. It's a fine theme as themes go--a little chromatic longing here, a little mezza di voce there. But my first reaction was that it was too snappy, that it did no justice to the introduction's glory and sorrow. It seemed to me that it had no wherewithal to seek its own salvation, unless it communicated as deeply as the conflict did. And I wasn't getting the depth.

There were beautiful momements throughout--especially the violin-cello duet near the end. The low strings often achieved the sound of deep, dark waters. The brass shone a silver light across the waters, and all was well. The attacks on the theme continued, however, and the theme had to respond. Each time it came back, I believed it a little bit more. But the final entrance of it, now augmented, broke down my last defenses. What had sounded naive at first, as if failing to realize the weight of the world, now was able to take the world with all its ills in stride. I was swept away into the deep waters, but now I was headed in the right direction. Love had grown up.

All this is not to say that I noticed any great tonal design or formal innovation or cosmic ambition. Love overcoming obstacles, however, is something I can appreciate. I know my own loves need to grow deeper lest they wither away. And thanks to Thomas Pasatieri's symphony, I have a resolve to do so.