Corigliano: From Jamestown to Saõ Paulo

1st May 2007

World-traveler John Corigliano's passport has recent stamps from far-flung locations: England, Australia, and China, just to name a few. This month, his music travels to both halves of the Western hemisphere with premiere performances in North and South America.

On 11 May, the "Jamestown 2007" Festival celebrates the quadracentennial of the 1607 founding of the Jamestown Settlement. To observe this historic event, the festival commissioned Corigliano to write a new fanfare, Jamestown Hymn. The Virginia Symphony and music director JoAnn Falletta join the Richmond Symphony in a joint world premiere performance. "The Virginia Symphony is honored to have the opportunity to premiere John Corigliano's latest work," states Falletta. "The piece combines an aura of solemn spirituality with a sense of future possibility and adventure — exactly the spirit we are celebrating through 400 years of our country's history. John's brilliant orchestration, intensely creative mind, and profound expression have given us a work befitting this benchmark in US History."

www.jamestown2007.org

At the end of the month, Corigliano heads south of the equator to Brazil for a composer residency at the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de Saõ Paulo. Music director John Neschling leads the orchestra in the Brazilian premieres of Corigliano's Clarinet Concerto (with soloist Ovanir Buosi), Tournaments, and his celebrated Symphony No. 1.