{"id":263,"date":"2016-09-15T17:43:45","date_gmt":"2016-09-15T17:43:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.runyanprogramnotes.com\/program_note\/two-mountain-scenes\/"},"modified":"2025-04-02T19:51:37","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T19:51:37","slug":"two-mountain-scenes","status":"publish","type":"program_note","link":"https:\/\/www.runyanprogramnotes.com\/program_note\/two-mountain-scenes\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Mountain Scenes"},"content":{"rendered":"

For over a century, now, and most especially for the last fifty years or so, there has existed a rather interesting difference between the receptivity of the lay public to contemporary visual art and to contemporary musical art.\u00a0\u00a0 Today, there is almost a commercial \u201cbubble\u201d in the prices of, let\u2019s say, contemporary painting\u2014no matter how avant-garde<\/em>–while the latest in \u201cserious\u201d musical composition has to constantly fight for acceptance by audiences, and others, as well.\u00a0\u00a0 While the \u201cbad boys\u201d of the earlier twentieth century, composers such as Stravinsky, Bart\u00f3k, Ives, or Var\u00e8se, and the like are now well within the fold of universal acceptance, the generation of composers in the decades following WWII has not fared as well\u2014especially those employing the precepts of Schoenberg and his followers.\u00a0\u00a0 The dissonance-laden, mathematically driven, abstractions of the latter \u201cschool\u201d found ready acceptance only by a small group of cognoscenti, and to a large degree exemplified the difficulty of \u201cmodern\u201d music with general music audiences. That situation, unfortunately, was difficult to change.<\/p>\n

That state of affairs, however, does not prevail, today.\u00a0 Times change, the wheel turns, and for decades, now, a newer generation of composers follow other directions\u2014and why shouldn\u2019t they?\u00a0\u00a0 While certainly not in an \u00e6sthetic lockstep, a great many of them follow an artistic vision that focuses on communication with their audiences; on an exploration of the infinite attractiveness of orchestra sounds and colors; on aural images that reflect human experience in the perceived world; and even acceptance of\u2014gulp!\u2014beauty and lyricism.\u00a0 Each marks his own way, and seeks his own voice, but times have changed, and the music of Kevin Puts is grateful evidence of that shift.<\/p>\n

Winner of almost every prize and award (including a Pulitzer in 2012 for his first<\/u> opera) that matters in contemporary musical composition these days, Puts stands in the forefront of today\u2019s composers who have garnered the respect and admiration of audiences, musicians, and critics, alike.\u00a0 Educated at the Eastman School of Music and Yale University, Puts has taught at various schools, but focuses upon his life as an independent composer.\u00a0\u00a0 That is a rather practical path for him, for he (now in his early forties) has a formidable list of works behind him, including four symphonies, many concertos, choral works, and solo songs.\u00a0 He has accepted commissions from such august groups as the New York Philharmonic, the Minnesota Opera, the Aspen Music Festival, the Baltimore Symphony, Carnegie Hall, and others.\u00a0 Audiences worldwide respond to his desire to communicate clearly and elegantly with them\u2014and given his admiration for those qualities in the music of Mozart, it\u2019s understandable.\u00a0 He has a mastery of orchestra color, an innate gift of lyricism, and a deep sensitivity for exploring the nuances of human experience and the world around us.\u00a0\u00a0 And that is fundamental to his Two Mountain Scenes<\/em>, commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, and given its premi\u00e8re by that orchestra in 2007.<\/p>\n

Speaking of the work, Puts relates his desire both to reflect the grandeur of the Colorado Rockies, and also to showcase the virtuosity and musicality of that great New York group. The first \u201cscene\u201d is a magisterial one, opening with echoing trumpet calls that seem to bounce nobly around the valleys.\u00a0\u00a0 Subsequently, the lush lyricism of the string section depicts the splendor and majesty with which we are all so familiar.\u00a0\u00a0 The second scene is a musical depiction of the energy and\u2014at times\u2014fury of Colorado mountain weather.\u00a0\u00a0 The wind swirls, storms attack, and all is swept aside by the unforgiving gales.\u00a0 Puts includes \u201cdistant bells\u201d from afar, as a pressing tempo and a web of instrumental figurations immerse one in the alpine maelstrom, leading to a dynamic conclusion.<\/p>\n

–Wm. E. Runyan<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2015 William E. Runyan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"program_note_tax":[105],"class_list":["post-263","program_note","type-program_note","status-publish","hentry","program_note_tax-kevinputs"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runyanprogramnotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/program_note\/263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runyanprogramnotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/program_note"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runyanprogramnotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/program_note"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runyanprogramnotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runyanprogramnotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"program_note_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runyanprogramnotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/program_note_tax?post=263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}