Synopsis

On today’s date in 1993, American composer Daniel Asia conducted the Phoenix Symphony in the premiere performance of his Symphony No. 4. The work included a slow movement, written as an orchestral elegy for his friend and composer colleague, Stephen Albert, who had died in a car crash the previous year.

But Asia cast his symphony in the traditional four-movements familiar from the symphonies of Haydn and Beethoven. And, as in the symphonies of Haydn and Beethoven, he left room for a wide range of emotions — including humor. So, in addition to a slow, elegiac movement, the symphony has a second movement Scherzo, with a traditional, but jaunty and very American-sounding trio section.

“In this piece, I was rediscovering old formal ideas ... the second movement is a true scherzo. There are refractions of Beethoven scherzos, but sometimes a beat is chopped off, creating a skipping effect. Everything is in threes in the trio-section; the harmony is three-voiced, and the instrumentation is also in threesomes,” Asia wrote.

As both composer and conductor, Daniel Asia has worked with American orchestras for coast-to-coast performances of his orchestral works, ranging from his hometown Seattle Symphony to the American Composers Orchestra in New York.

Music Played in Today's Program

Daniel Asia (b. 1953): Symphony No. 4; New Zealand Symphony; James Sedares, conductor; Summit 256