ADRIAN
SLYWOTZKY
CONDUCTOR
COMMUNITY
“There’s a special place in my heart for composers of our recent past who deserve to be better known—whose music cries out to be heard.” —Adrian Slywotzky
Projects
Gregoria Karides Suchy Centennary Celebration
Gregoria Karides Suchy (1923-2018) was the daughter of Greek immigrants, and grew up steeped in musical traditions—as a child, she played piano in her family’s Greek folk music ensemble. Her music integrates a fascinating array of sources and styles: Greek folk music, atonal and twelve-tone language, jazz dance band music, and electronic composition. Karides Suchy was also a dedicated pedagogue who taught composition at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for over 50 years.
In close collaboration with the composer’s daughter, the wonderful harpist and educator Dr. Jessica Suchy-Pilalis, the Crane Symphony Orchestra presented a special concert on November 14, 2023, marking the exact 100th anniversary of Gregoria Karides Suchy’s birth. Along with her best-known orchestral work, Greek Rhapsody, we performed her triptych of vivid character pieces, Three Lovers, as well as the world premiere of Argument: Mother and Daughter. For the premiere of Argument, Jessica and I delved into piano and orchestra manuscripts to create a new performing edition.
Dolores White: Confrontation and Tensions
I came upon Dolores White’s orchestral work, Crystal Gazing, thanks to the remarkable compilation album New American Voices II, recorded in 1998 by the Cleveland Chamber Symphony and Edwin London. I fell in love with Crystal Gazing and started exploring Mrs. White’s other music, which led me to Confrontation and Tensions. This challenging and moving chamber work was inspired by Andy Warhol’s painting, Race Riot, based on photographs of the brutal police response to Black Americans participating in a nonviolent demonstration in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963.
The piece begins with the musicians shouting cries of protest—“In violation of our rights!…We’re not breaking the law!…It’s an outrage!”—which give way to a jazz drum beat, the wail of sirens, virtuosic violin cadenzas, and chains of thorny, menacing harmonies. Like Warhol’s painting, Confrontation and Tensions bridges old and new, “popular” and “serious” styles, in a powerful outcry that’s as resonant today as ever. The original parts used for the premiere are not in usable condition, so with Mrs. White’s blessing I commissioned composer Jacob Mashak to create a new performance edition. Using this new edition, the Contemporary Directions Ensemble of the University of Michigan revived Confrontation and Tensions on April 16, 2021.
Please contact Adrian for further information about Confrontation and Tensions.
Hugo Kauder: Merlin Premiere
Hugo Kauder (1888-1972) began his career in Vienna, but in 1940 escaped from Austria to the U.S. He settled in New York to compose, teach, and contribute to a vital network of European refugee composers. Manuscripts of Kauder’s only opera, Merlin, were unearthed in 2010, and the Hugo Kauder Society undertook the project of bringing this work to life. Written in collaboration with the German philosopher and poet Rudolf Pannwitz, Merlin tells a complex and moving story of the magician’s relationships with his teacher Blasius, the kings Pendragon and Uterpendragon, and his beloved Viviane, who eventually uses Merlin’s own magic to trap him for eternity inside a hawthorn. Composer Brian Robinson completed Kauder’s orchestration and engraved the opera for performance. It was a huge joy to work with such a dedicated, energetic, and talented team to bring Merlin to the stage. We gave the world premiere of the opera on June 9, 2013—the exact 125th anniversary of the composer’s birth.
For more information, visit: hugokauder.org.