Husa's "Apotheosis of This Earth"

Synopsis

Today is Earth Day—an annual event started in 1970 by then-Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin as an environmental teach-in.

Senator Nelson wasn’t the only one concerned back then, either: the Czech-born composer Karel Husa had noticed dead fish floating on a lake located near a power plant. “The plant was producing hot thermal pollution which in turn killed all those fish,” Husa recalled. “In addition, I noticed more beer cans in the water and algae in greater quantities.”

A wind band commission provided Husa with an opportunity to create a work he called “Apotheosis of This Earth.” In explaining its title, Husa wrote:

“Man’s brutal possession and misuse of nature’s beauty—if continued at today’s reckless speed—can only lead to catastrophe. The composer hopes that the destruction of this beautiful earth can be stopped, so that the tragedy of destruction—musically projected here in the second movement—and the desolation of its aftermath—the “postscript” of this work—can exist only as fantasy, never to become reality.”

“Apotheosis of this Earth” was commissioned by the Michigan School Band and Orchestral Association, and its premiere performance took place on April 1, 1970, with Husa himself conducting the University of Michigan Symphony Band at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor. It proved a powerful piece of music.

“As the Postscript finished,” recalled the composer, “I saw that the students in the band were somehow moved—there were even some tears.”

Music Played in Today's Program

Karel Husa (b. 1921) Apotheosis of This Earth Ithaca College Wind Ensemble; Rodney Winther, cond. Mark 3170

On This Day

Births

• 1658 - Italian composer and violinist Giuseppe Torelli, in Verona;

• 1858 - British composer and women's rights advocate Dame Ethel Smyth, in Rectory;

• 1922 - American composer and jazz bassist Charles Mingus, in Nogales, Ariz.;

• 1932 - American composer Michael Colgrass, in Chicago;

Deaths

• 1892 - French composer Edouard Lalo, age 69, in Paris;

• 1925 - French composer André Caplet, age 46, in Paris;

• 2001 - American composer, pianist and author Robert Starer, age 77, in Woodstock, N.Y.;

Premieres

• 1749 - Rameau: opera-ballet "Naïs," in Paris;

• 1885 - Dvorák: Symphony No. 7, in London, with the Royal Philharmonic conducted by the composer;

• 1904 - Chadwick: "Euterpe" overture, by the Boston Symphony with the composer conducting;

• 1912 - Dukas: ballet "La Péri," in Paris;

• 1927 - Roger Sessions: Symphony (No. 1) in e, by the Boston Symphony with Serge Koussevitzky conducting;

• 1938 - Leo Sowerby: Organ Concerto, by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting;

• 1939 - Menotti: opera "The Old Man and the Thief," in New York City as a NBC radio broadcast; The first staged performance took place in Philadelphia on February 11, 1941;

• 1944 - Harry Partch: "Eight Hitchhiker Inscriptions from a Highway Railing," at the chamber concert room at Carnegie Hall;

• 1961 - Ginastera: Piano Concerto No. 1, in Washington, D.C.;

• 1969 - Peter Maxwell Davies: "Eight Songs for a Mad King," in London;

• 1975 - Andrew Lloyd-Webber: musical "Jeeves" (book and lyrics by Alan Ayckbourn), in London; An almost totally revised version of this musical, retitled "By Jeeves,: opened in London on July 2, 1996;

• 1999 - Harbison: "Four Psalms," by vocal soloists Lisa Affer, Lorraine Hunt, Frank Kelley, and James Maddalena, with the Chicago Symphony and Chorus, Christoph Eschenbach conducting;

Others

• 1723 - J.S. Bach is elected cantor at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig;

• 1853 - First documented American performance of Beethoven's "Leonore"Overture No. 2, at Niblo's Rooms in New York City, by the New York Philharmonic, Theodore Eisfeld conducting;

• 1869 - First documented American performance of Beethoven's "King Stephen"Oveture (Op. 117), at the Academy of Music in New York, by the Theodore Thomas Orchestra;

• 1876 - American premiere of Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet" Fantasy-Overture, by the New York Philharmonic, George Matzka conducting;

• 1921 - In Paris, the first of the "Koussevitzky Concerts" organized and conducted by the wealthy Russian emigree conductor and music patron, Serge Koussevitzky;

• 2001 - Philharmonic Hungarica gives its final concert in Düsseldorf; The orchestra was founded by Hungarian musicians who fled to West Germany after the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956; For London/Decca Records the Philharmonic Hungarica made the first complete set of all of Haydn's symphonies under the baton of its honorary president, the Hungarian-American conductor Antal Dorati.