The St. Louis Symphony once again will feature music from a Mizzou composer as part of their subscription season when they perform Stefan Freund’s “Cyrillic Dreams” in a concert at 8:00 p.m. Friday, April 29 at Powell Hall in St. Louis.
Freund (pictured) is associate professor of composition and music theory at the University of Missouri, co-artistic director of the Mizzou New Music Initiative, and director of the Mizzou New Music Ensemble. The Memphis native also is a cellist and founding member of the new music group Alarm Will Sound, and is the music director and principal conductor of the Columbia Civic Orchestra.
“Cyrillic Dreams” was composed in 2008 with a commission from the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation, and was inspired by Freund’s trip to Russia that year. It was premiered in a performance by the Columbia Civic Orchestra on March 24, 2009 in Vienna’s Minoritenkirche with the composer conducting, and subsequently has been played by orchestras including the Tennessee Tech University Orchestra and the Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra, and at the Missouri River Festival of the Arts.
The St. Louis Symphony will play the work on a program that also includes popular favorites such as Bernstein’s “Candide Overture,” Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” and Dukas’ “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.”
The concert is part of the St. Louis Symphony’s “Music You Know” series conducted by music director David Robertson, which aims to connect listeners to classical music by presenting “familiar tunes we’re certain you know, and others that you’ll long to hear again and again.”
“Cyrillic Dreams” also is one of just eight works by living composers on the orchestra’s schedule this season. It’s the second time they’ve played a work by a Mizzou composer, having performed “Ravish and Mayhem” by Mizzou alumna Stephanie Berg in January, 2014 at Powell Hall.
“When I wrote “Cyrillic Dreams,” I imagined the rich acoustic of the three huge churches in Austria where the piece was to be performed,” said Freund. “I think it will sound equally glorious in the majestic setting of Powell Hall.”
Tickets for the St. Louis Symphony’s concert featuring the performance of “Cyrillic Dreams” can be purchased in person at the Powell Hall box office or via their website at stlsymphony.org.