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Symphony performance brings life to art
Audio Clip
By Don Shilling
A California composer said the Butler project consumed him like no other.
YOUNGSTOWN — Powers Auditorium almost felt like it had returned to its days as a movie theater Saturday.
The Youngstown Symphony Orchestra performed “Impressions of the Butler,” a work that was inspired by some well-known paintings in the Butler Institute of American Art, the city’s renowned museum.
“It’s a little bit like movie music,” said Randall Craig Fleischer, the symphony’s music director. “The Butler itself is the movie.”
As the eight-movement piece unfolded, images of the Butler works were shown on two large screens.
Fleischer came up with the idea of tying the symphony with the Butler and suggested Gregory Prechel of California be commissioned to write the 25-minute piece.
The performance opened with “Lincoln the Railsplitter,” a painting by Norman Rockwell acquired by the Butler in 2007 amid great fanfare.
The music began with a light, wistful tone as the painting of a young Lincoln reading a book was shown on the screens. But then the pace increased, and the music shifted to a big, rich sound that was fitting for one of the nation’s most famous historical figures, who was much touted throughout last week’s inauguration ceremonies.
Speaking before Saturday’s performance, Fleischer said he gave the composer a few directions when he was hired. Fleischer wanted the tones to be lush and he wanted a big ending.
Prechel delivered just that.
The ending featured glimpses of Butler works that were shown earlier, and the sweeping tones of the music were reminiscent of a key scene in an inspirational movie.
Prechel has experience in guiding the listener’s emotions. His compositions have appeared in many films, such as “Scary Movie 4” and several Disney “Air Bud” movies, and television shows such as “The Young and the Restless” and “The Simpsons.”
The Butler piece showed his wide range of abilities.
When “Snap the Whip” was shown on the screens, the music was fun and whimsical as the screen showed children at play. Later, as “Youngstown Strike” showed a violent image of a labor confrontation, the sounds alternated between frenetic, tense violins and an imperial march that was heavy and foreboding.
Prechel told the audience before the performance that he had written enough music for a performance of an hour or more. Many of the themes he developed were left out of the final work because he was given a time limit.
“Perhaps we’ll have ‘Impressions of the Butler Part II,’” Prechel said while looking over to Fleischer.
“How about, ‘Revenge of the Butler Institute,’” the music director responded with a laugh.
Prechel said he found it easy to be inspired by the Butler works. He spent four days in April touring the museum, with his wife taking notes. He started working on the piece right away and then devoted himself to finishing it in December.
“As my wife can attest, I’ve not had a project consume me like this one did. I thought of nothing else for weeks on end,” he said.
Grover Pitman of New Wilmington, Pa., who plays French horn in the orchestra, said he was excited by the piece. He and his wife, Jacqueline, who also plays in the orchestra, are members of the Butler and were pleased to see some of their favorite paintings featured.
“We think the music is very fitting. It has powerful statements,” he said.
Fleischer said he thinks this will be just the beginning of such unusual efforts by the symphony. He would like to commission a major piece once a season and continue to develop connections with the community.
He hopes the symphony becomes known as a place where “many things that are cool and creative” are happening.
shilling@vindy.com