The Phoenix Symphony will present Glenn Stallcop's City Music on November 8, 9, & 10 with Tito Munoz conducting. City Music was composed in 1974, "a lifetime ago" says the composer, who composed it just after finishing college.
City Music was Stallcop's first major effort for orchestra, composed at the time he took a position as double bassist with the Phoenix Symphony. City Music was written as a gift and tribute to Vilem Sokol, legendary conductor of the Seattle Youth Symphony. It was first performed by the Seattle Youth Symphony, Sokol conducting, at the Seattle Opera House in May 1976.
The first movement, "Song", paints an exotic and cosmopolitan picture of the city with its esoteric sophistocation. Essentially a set of variations, the movement features two lavish and virtuosic fast variations and an extended bluesy cadenza for solo violin. The second movement, "Dance", characterizes the hustle, bustle, and mega-caffinated reality of life in the big city. Its popular rhythms, cast in the form of a rondo, come together for an extendedcoda which builds to a wild frenzy at the end. The piece is scored for large orchestra and features seven percussionists!
Excerpt from - Kathy Parsons, Mainly Piano: "Glenn Stallcop is an active and versatile composer. Originally from Seattle, WA, he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Washington in 1976 and a Master’s degree in Music from Arizona State University in 1993. The Phoenix Symphony Orchestra has performed nine of his orchestral works and his music is performed by symphonies, festivals, chamber musicians, and youth orchestras around the country. At the keyboard, Stallcop has been active in classical music, jazz, free improvisation and the performance of his own music. After playing classical piano and rock music in his teens, he turned to improv in the 1970’s and has performed almost exclusively in free improvisation, both as a soloist and in groups."
Conductor Tito Muñoz is internationally recognized as one of the most gifted conductors on the podium today. Now in his sixth season as Music Director of the Phoenix Symphony, Tito previously served as Music Director of the Opéra National de Lorraine and the Orchestre symphonique et lyrique de Nancy in France. Other prior appointments include Assistant Conductor positions with the Cleveland Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and the Aspen Music Festival.
Each season, The Phoenix Symphony offers inspiring Classics and Pops concerts and one-of-a-kind Specials in downtown Phoenix and throughout central Arizona.
