Gateway Chamber Orchestra brings powerful Mahler work to Middle Tennessee May 5th-6th
April 15, 2013
Clarksville, TN – In 1907, the great Austrian composer Gustav Mahler had a bad year. First, he lost his job as director of the Vienna State Opera. Then, in July, his young daughter Maria died after a brief illness. While grieving this loss, Mahler was diagnosed with a terminal heart condition.
In the months that followed, the composer found solace in a book of Chinese Tang Dynasty poetry titled “The Chinese Flute.” As he read the works, translated into German, a composition slowly took shape in his head.
Gateway Chamber Orchestra
APSU Remembers Legacy and Friendship of Late Composer Lee Hoiby
April 6, 2011
Clarksville, TN – In his later years, the renowned American composer Lee Hoiby was a quiet, slender gentleman with wavy gray hair and intelligent, often amused eyes. His appearance suited his style of music, which was reminiscent of the pleasing tunes of the early Romantic era and of his idol, Franz Schubert.
“His music is beautiful,” Gregory Wolynec, Austin Peay State University associate professor of music, said. “When we think of contemporary music, we frequently think of things that can be difficult for audiences to approach. But Lee Hoiby considered himself the caretaker of an heirloomed garden that started back with Mozart and Haydn, and even earlier than that.”
Lena Orgain, APSU Professor of Music Jeffrey Wood and the late American composer Lee Hoiby.
