‘Negrón, Gershwin, & Gould’ @ Dallas Symphony
Photos courtesy of Dallas Symphony Orchestra
—Wayne Lee Gay
A new choral-orchestral masterpiece takes the stage at the Meyerson Symphony Center this weekend, as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and music director Fabio Luisi present the premiere performances of Angélica Negrón's "for everything you keep losing."
Puerto Rico-born, Brooklyn-based composer Negrón draws on a wide spectrum of sources and resources here, including the Latin mass for the dead, outstanding contemporary poets, field recordings of endangered species, an array of traditional and non-traditional musical styles, and the great heritage of choral-orchestral music. Modern poetry lamenting the current climate crisis—but in a manner transcending politics and policy—emerges naturally from the Latin texts. The opening interplay of the countertenor soloist Key'mon Murrah and mezzo-soprano Kimberly Gratland James with chorus and orchestra establishes Negrón's command of sonic possibility.
And Negrón's mastery of the emotional power of musical gesture emerges repeatedly throughout the seven-movement, thirty-seven minute work: for example, in the ravishingly beautiful fifth movement, "Bendictus," retreating from a sort of splendor to grief, or in stunning moments of silence, the unaccompanied choral textures, and in the sudden interjection of the spoken word.
Conductor Luisi encompasses the complexity magnificently, with the assistance of the sheer expertise of the DSO, and the brilliant precision of the 160-voice Dallas Symphony Chorus, trained by chorus director Anthony Blake Clark. Soprano Lauren Snouffer and tenor Paul Appleby join the afore-mentioned Murrah and James in a serenely insightful quartet of soloists (in which, intriguingly, Negrón chose not to include a bass).
At Thursday's opening performance, audience reaction was divided between polite applause on one hand and enthusiastic ovation from the cognescenti who clearly recognized the value of the work. The past century has produced a number of large-scale choral-orchestral works that are both timely and potentially timeless, such as Michael Tippett's A Child of Our Time and Benjamin Britten's War Requiem. Negrón's "for everything you keep losing" deserves to be included in that list.
After intermission, Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, in the full orchestral arrangement by Ferde Grofé, emerged with glorious energy from the Israeli-born, New York-based pianist Inon Barnatan as soloist. Clarinetist Gregory Raden's wickedly playful rendition of the famous opening clarinet riff set the tone for an unfailingly energetic performance of this essential classic of American music. Pianist Barnatan’s interpretation ranged from explosive power to thoughtful lyricism, supported by Luisi's joyous reading of the score. Barnatan encored with a pleasingly outlandish paraphrase of Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm."
(One could well note that the composer of the quintessentially American Rhapsody in Blue would have been deported in childhood under the current presidential administration's proposed pullback of birthright citizenship.)
Luisi closes the concert with Morton Gould's Latin American Symphonette from 1941. Gould was a leading proponent of the Depression-inspired fad for musical Americana in the 1930s and 1940s, and he and other North American composers were also influenced by Latin American music (e.g., Copland's El Salón México and Gershwin's “Cuban Overture”). Gould's colorful and lighthearted Latin American Symphonette (actually a set of four dance-inspired movements) is a prime example of that trend. Luisi's dedication to new music as well as his obvious interest in over-looked works from America's past continue to make the Dallas Symphony a lively contributor to the intellectual and artistic life of the region.
WHEN: October 16-18, 2025
WHERE: Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas
WEB: dallassymphony.org
