.
Orchestral Works by Tomas Svoboda, released by
Albany Records in July 2003, was recorded under the artistic direction of
James DePreist and contains three works by Czech-American composer
Tomáš Svoboda:
Overture of the Season, Op. 89;
Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra, Op. 148; and Symphony No. 1 (of Nature), Op. 20. Svoboda has been regarded as Oregon's "most prolific and performed" classical composer. Following his education at the
Prague Conservatory (1954–1962), the
Academy of Music in Prague (1962–1964) and the
University of Southern California (1966–1969), Svoboda taught
composition and
music theory at
Portland State University for more than 25 years.
Overture of the Season and
Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra were recorded at the
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in
downtown Portland on January 9–10, 2000; Symphony No. 1 was recorded at the same venue on June 13, 2000. The recording was funded by Mary Ausplund Tooze, a longtime philanthropist and patron of Portland's arts community, who specifically requested the inclusion of
Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra for being a "good, solid piece and one you find out more about each time you hear it". Tooze considered the concerto the "real star" of the recording. In 1994, the classical music writer for
Philadelphia Daily News said the composition had been performed by 55 orchestras within the three previous seasons. The "festive" overture, which is approximately eight minutes in length, employs
flutes,
piccolo,
oboes,
clarinets,
bassoons,
horns,
trumpets,
trombones,
tuba,
timpani, percussion, and
strings.
Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra was commissioned by the orchestra in 1993 in conjunction with its centennial celebration. It features solo marimba and a "
keyboard" quintet (
piano,
harp,
celeste,
orchestra bells and
crotales), with parts for flutes, piccolo, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, trombones, tuba, timpani, and strings. According to Svoboda, the work took a year to compose and marks the first
concerto commissioned by the Oregon Symphony for one of its musicians.
Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra is dedicated to DePonte, who encouraged Svoboda to compose a marimba concerto. For the album's liner notes, Svoboda wrote: When the concerto is performed, according to Svoboda, instruments on stage are separated into three contrasting sections: the solo marimba, the quintet, and the remainder of the orchestra. The quintet is placed near the conductor and solo marimba, "which is the prominent voice of this uncommon ensemble". The composition contains several instances where the quintet plays for extended periods, referred to as "islands" by Svoboda, which create "concerto grosso-like interplay" with the orchestra. Symphony No. 1 was completed in 1956 and premiered in
Prague on September 7, 1957. Inspired by Svoboda's exposure to nature within a pastoral setting, the composition was commissioned anonymously 25 years later (1982), providing Svoboda an opportunity to make revisions. The work was influenced by
Ludwig van Beethoven,
Antonín Dvořák, and
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; it features
polyphonic textures and
asymmetrical and
harmonic rhythmic elements. The symphony consists of four movements: "Moderato", "Presto", "Andante", and "Allegro – Moderato". The first, considered a
chorale, is in the key of
C-sharp minor and features a theme performed by flute. The second movement, a
scherzo, features a "quick, motoric" triple rhythm and
meter. The third is a
pastorale that highlights the
woodwind section and incorporates a piece called "The Bird", composed by Svoboda in 1949 at age nine. The final movement, a
rondo, was influenced by
Czech folk music and mixes themes supplied by earlier movements. ==Reception and broadcasts==