Several years ago, North Carolina Symphony Principal Bass Leonid (Lenny) Finkelshteyn began prodding composer and bass trombonist Terry Mizesko to write a concerto for double bass. What began as something to joke about at rehearsals or before concerts (Mizesko was a member of the Symphony for 46 years, until his retirement in 2017) gradually turned into a more serious conversation—and ultimately, the idea became a reality.
Now, at a concert in Southern Pines, Finkelshteyn will give the world premiere of Mizesko’s Concerto for Double Bass and String Orchestra.
Mizesko, a North Carolina native, has composed and arranged numerous works for NCS, and his music is consistently popular (Sketches from Pinehurst is an audience favorite). NCS Music Director Grant Llewellyn is an advocate of Mizesko’s music and is thrilled to present this brand-new concerto, which provides a rare opportunity to experience the capabilities of the double bass as a solo instrument.
“I can’t imagine a better marriage than having a bass trombonist write a concerto for double bass—Lenny and Terry live in that same deep, dark, bass world and have spent decades playing the bass lines together,” explains Llewellyn. “Terry’s works are always winners, written beautifully for the orchestra that he knows from the inside, and our audiences just lap up his music.”
Given Finkelshteyn’s and Mizesko’s long history as friends and colleagues, the process of completing the concerto was collaborative—with Finkelshteyn reviewing drafts and making suggestions on what would best suit the technical abilities of the bass, and Mizesko singing phrases to convey the musical interpretation he envisioned.
The resulting work is tuneful and animated, paying homage to Finkelshteyn’s Russian heritage through beautiful Eastern European-inspired themes and dance rhythms, and capturing the bassist’s ebullient spirit.
“If I had to describe this concerto in one word, I would say that it is very exciting,” says Finkelshteyn. “I really, truly believe in this work, and I hope it will become popular with bass players all over the world.”
“I wanted to make the concerto very virtuosic to really showcase Lenny’s talent,” adds Mizesko. “We’re so lucky to have him in the North Carolina Symphony.”
Works for string orchestra by Dvořák and Kilar, also strongly rooted in Eastern Europe, will keep the lively atmosphere present throughout this program. Dvořák’s Serenade for Strings—infused with Czech-inspired melodic motives and peasant rhythms—echoes the happiness that the composer felt at the time he wrote it, as a newlywed and new father. (“The Dvořák Serenade for Strings always makes me think of the freshness of springtime, with feelings of optimism and amiable associations,” says NCS violinist Eric McCracken.)
Kilar’s Orawa is inspired by a river and highlands of the Slavic region and draws on folk tunes of the composer’s native Poland. Whirling melodic fragments gradually unfold and transform, with the piece beginning as a whisper and building to a thrilling finale. Orawa was received with enthusiastic praise from audience members when performed at fall 2017 concerts in Raleigh.
The performance in Southern Pines will also include works by Villa-Lobos and Jennifer Higdon. Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1 by Villa-Lobos—Brazil’s foremost composer—is an homage to Bach, yet reveals the composer’s own distinctive voice with its Brazilian folk melodies and rhythms.
Scored for eight cellos, this will be a sonic experience not found often in live performance. To the Point—a jaunty work for string quartet by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon—also pays homage to composers that came before. It was written as a response to Impressionistic string quartets by Ravel and Debussy.
Music Director Grant Llewellyn and NCS musicians are eager to share the depth of expression found in music for string orchestra. Ticket holders are invited to a free pre-concert talk on the music, one hour before the performance. To learn more, please visit ncsymphony.org.
North Carolina Symphony
Dvořák Serenade for Strings
Thursday, February 1 at 8 pm
Lee Auditorium
Pinecrest High School (Southern Pines)
PERFORMERS
North Carolina Symphony
Grant Llewellyn, conductor
Leonid Finkelshteyn, double bass
PROGRAM
Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1*
Terry Mizesko: Concerto for Double Bass and Strings
Jennifer Higdon: To the Point*
Kilar: Orawa
Dvořák: Serenade for Strings
TICKETS
Online: ncsymphony.org (TicketMaster fees apply)
By phone: 919.733.2750 ($8 processing fee applies)
Feature Photo: Composer Terry Mizesko and NCS Principal Bass Leonid Finkelshteyn collaborated closely as Mizesko wrote his Concerto for Double Bass and String Orchestra.
