Hearing Izcaray's vision
With the first part of the 2016-17 season behind them, Carlos Izcaray and the Alabama Symphony Orchestra look forward to a loaded second half, an abundance of riches that will include a two-part mini-fest dedicated to American music, a new cycle of the Classical Masters series in the chic Lyric Theatre and a kaleidoscopic new-music happening, the Sound Edge festival.
The orchestra has been recognized around the world for its leadership role in new music. Izcaray said he sees the Sound Edge festival as a way of furthering ASO’s reputation and bringing even more new music to local audiences.
“The Sound Edge festival is an evolving initiative from what the Alabama Symphony Orchestra is already doing, which includes avant-garde musical compositions, but will also begin to play with concert format, playing with bands for example, and trying to get everyone out of their comfort zones,” Izcaray said.
Performing at Iron City on Feb. 10, the ensemble will be out of their comfort zones in the best way, and might even earn some street cred with Birmingham’s hipster scene when they take the stage with NYCO, a band led by former Chicago Symphony percussionist Ted Atkatz.
Individual members of the orchestra will perform at WorkPlay on Valentine’s Day for a smaller set with a Shakespeare theme. Local breweries will supply refreshments, and local radio stations will be involved. DJs are a part of the mix, too, Izcaray said.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Classical Masters series focuses on the works of composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Haydn and Vivaldi.
“It makes sense, now that the Lyric has come back, to do programs like the Classical Masters there,” Izcaray said. “It seems very appropriate to the venue.”
Before they journey out of their Alys Stephens Center home base, however, ASO will give a sequel to last year’s Russian festival. This year’s will focus on the wealth of 20th and 21st century American composers, including Duke Ellington, Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein and Charles Ives, alongside Richard Danielpour, John Adams and the orchestra’s Sound Investment composer, Susan Botti.
Izcaray emphasized the variety of the programs, saying, “The American festival coming up in a few months is definitely something I wanted to highlight in my second season: the broad, wide range of composers that this country has had throughout its history.”
He added this fascination ran through the whole season, mentioning the premiere of Matthew Aucoin’s piano concerto, the Americana-inspired “Louisville Concerto” of Jacques Ibert, and the “Concert Paraphrase” of Timo Andres. Later concerts in the season will feature American giants Samuel Barber and George Gershwin.
The clusters of festivals are not an accident of programming. Izcaray said he thinks this scheduling approach offers a concentrated and ultimately more impactful experience than if they were dispersed throughout the season: “The word [festival] says it all: [It’s] celebratory, a way for the community to come together and listen to something thematic and tied together.”
Of course, achieving these changes and getting outside of comfort zones has been done only with the support of the orchestra itself, and Izcaray notes their importance to other ideas, like his plans for educational outreach.
“We’re trying a bunch of new educational initiatives,” Izcaray said of his second full season as ASO’s music director. “We had our first set of explorer concerts with little kids, events with students from the Alabama Symphony Youth Orchestra and honor students at the university. These initiatives are growing and expanding and getting more enthusiasm, and the musicians are key to these projects.”
The rapport evident between the orchestra and their conductor has only increased in Izcaray’s second season. When he spoke of the development of that relationship, he praised the ensemble’s work from the beginning, while saying that the second season’s success has depended on an increasing awareness of the orchestra’s capabilities.
“They were very efficient from the get-go, but once you get to know people, you begin leaning on their strengths. The pieces they play with me are there for very specific reasons.”
This 2016-17 season has attested to the high level of Alabama’s only full-time orchestra and the well-planned vision of its leading man. In addition to the festivals, there will be concerts featuring two definitive violin concertos, Arnaud Sussman playing the Brahms and Benjamin Beilman taking on the Tchaikovsky, and two opportunities to hear the magnificent spectacle of Verdi’s “Requiem.”