| Barbara Sauer Prugh premieres David Finko's Concerto | January 31, 2005 | |||||
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On October 17 2004, ITG member Barbara Sauer Prugh gave the world premiere of David Finko's Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. The concerto, performed in a piano reduction with Mr. Finko at the piano, was given at one of the Crissey Concerts, Harrington Crissey’s solo and chamber music concert series featuring Philadelphia area composers. David Finko is a composer of international stature who graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory in 1965 and emigrated to the United States in 1979. Full details of Finko’s interesting career will be found at the website of his publisher, Theodore Presser; just to give readers a flavour, he did not become a full-time musician until he was 29 as he was previously following in his father’s footsteps, designing nuclear submarines for the Soviet Navy. His conservatory studies took place while he was already working at the Submarine Design Bureau in the same city. After graduation from Leningrad (Sonata for Piano No. 1 was awarded the First Prize that year in the conservatory’s new compositions contest) he changed profession, writing many large-scale works on commission from the Ministry of Culture and from noted performers, and working as an editor for the State Music Publisher, until his emigration for religious and political reasons. Since arriving in the United States, Finko has taught at a number of prestigious universities and music schools, and written works on commission for orchestras and music societies. He is the recipient of many awards. The Presser website comments, “Finko’s Russian-Jewish heritage is an important aspect of his music, often providing the subject matter (especially for his operas and tone poems) as well as motivating the thematic content. Mussorgsky and Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich and Prokofiev, the music of the Russian Orthodox Church and Jewish folksong and synagogue music are clear influences on his style. David Finko has been especially interested in exploring tragic conceptions of the human life expressing those issues in his operas, concertos for instruments and chamber music.” The Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra (2002), is a 20-minute work in three movements. Andante con moto, Largo cantabile and Moderato con moto. The original orchestration includes woodwind, four horns, two tubas, two percussion and strings. David Finko tells us: ‘I may say that writing trumpet concertos was not a major artistic avenue in Russian music of the 19th and 20th centuries. You see, neither Tchaikovsky nor Prokofiev nor any other major Russian composer wrote a trumpet concerto. Thus it was a challenge for me culturally and mentally. I was delighted that my Trumpet Concerto got a warm reception from several US professional composers, musicians, board members and listeners last October. I was told, “Your Trumpet Concerto was very pleasant and easy to listen to, and in the same time the content of the music was very profound”. I was so much encouraged by the responses the piece received that I have started work on my future Trombone and Horn concertos!’ Soloist Barbara Sauer Prugh adds: 'From the performer's viewpoint, this concerto offers the advanced player all the technical challenges one could want (i.e., fast fingering and tonguing, including some double, triple, and flutter tonguing; very angular writing with lots of tricky intervals; range and breath control challenges, etc.) all within a contemporary and very musical setting. David has done a great job giving the player some wonderful thematic material in which to display their musicality, with the second movement being particularly expressive and exquisite!' Prugh is a graduate of the University of Delaware and the Eastman School of Music and a busy solo and orchestral artist in the Philadelphia area. Other premieres she has given include works for trumpet and contemporary ensemble by Thea Musgrave and Jan Kryzwicki. For more information on Ms Prugh please see her website, URL listed below. Concert promoter Harrington Crissey comments: 'The three-movement concerto is a modern yet accessible work. Mr. Finko has carefully prepared the orchestration so that it can be played by community orchestras. Thanks are due to ITG president Steve Chenette, who encouraged Mr. Finko to forge ahead with the piece. I consider it highly deserving of repeat performances.' Websites:
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