Music in Cincinnati: 'Walker and his Sinfonia came to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Jan. 25 for its regional premiere'

George Walker (b. 1922)
is featured at AfriClassical.com
and has a website at http://georgetwalker.com/

Music in Cincinnati
Shaham, Tortelier Warm CSO Audience

Mary Ellyn Hutton
Posted: Jan 29, 2013 - 7:03:23 AM

(First published at www.ConcertoNet.com)

How to spend your 90^th birthday? For Jean Sibelius, it meant continued retirement.  Indeed, the Finnish composer wrote virtually nothing for the last 30 years of his life. Not so George Walker, whose Sinfonia Number 4 (“Strands”) was commissioned and premiered by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra shortly after he turned 90 last year. Walker and his Sinfonia came to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Jan. 25 for its regional premiere and a warm reception by the Cincinnati audience at Music Hall.

The 15-minute work takes its name from its mosaic-like construction, having strands from a pair of spirituals woven into it (“There is a Balm in Gilead” and “Roll, Jordan Roll”). Scored for large orchestra, including a raft of percussion, it is a muscular work, opening with a big statement by the full ensemble that quickly breaks down into its component parts. The prevailing mood is dramatic, with moments of respite and good humor, witness a particularly jaunty moment for pizzicato strings, percussion and winds. The “strands” do not make themselves obvious, since they are embedded in the texture, often handed off from one instrument or section to another, but the impression was one of great power and integrity. Walker basked in bravos from the crowd as he walked on to acknowledge their applause and share bows with the CSO and guest conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier.