A Lincoln Portrait was one of three new works commissioned by conductor André Kostelanetz following the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II. Copland’s piece is written for speaker and orchestra, and uses quotations from Abraham Lincoln’s own letters and speeches (including the Gettysburg Address) as well as the 18th-century ballad “Springfield Mountain” and Stephen Foster’s “Camptown Races.” The purpose — to inspire unity and excite patriotism in the country. Says the California Symphony’s Music Director, Barry Jekowsky, who programmed the work, “When I think about the world we live in, it’s not so different from that era.”
Typically, political figures or actors are called upon to narrate the piece, but Jekowsky’s group has proven itself anything but typical. He says: “With the California Symphony, I really like to make the act of going to the symphony a fresh one. Even if people are coming to hear works they’ve heard before, we like to provide a little twist that adds a bit more value to their experience. It changes the way they listen to the music.” Anyone who attended last season’s Symphonic Concert in 3D, complete with 3D glasses, can attest to the adventurous spirit of this orchestra. And the participation of Durst, who has been called “quite possibly the best political satirist working in the country today,” in the New York Times, should prove equally refreshing.
Will Durst is a five-time Emmy nominee and was the first comic to perform at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He has been nominated seven consecutive times for the American Comedy Awards’ Standup of the Year. A regular commentator for audible.com, Air America, CNN, and NPR, Durst also writes a nationally syndicated Op-Ed column, and for The San Francisco Chronicle. While A Lincoln Portrait is likely to be taken seriously for the profound words therein, Durst will bring his interpretation to the work, as well as deliver a short encore of his own comic discourse.
The rest of the program includes fairly traditional fare: Mozart’s Symphony No. 35 in D Major ("Haffner") and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3 in A Minor ("Scottish). And as Chronicle critic Joshua Kosman put it, “the orchestra's mastery of standard orchestral repertoire remains impressive.” Jekowsky believes that because the orchestra has not played these particular masterworks in its 23-year history, it will bring an eager approach to the performance. It’s all in keeping with his mission: “In order for the symphonic experience to exist in the future, we need to hold to our principles but also enrich and surprise the audience.”