‘88-’89 Season: New Sounds, New Faces

Orchestrally at least, the 1988-89 season promises to be interesting. Through a coincidence of anniversaries and leadership changes, there will be more new music and new faces in our concert halls than last year.

The Long Beach Symphony, searching for a new music director following the dismissal of Murry Sidlin, brings five young American conductors to its podium: Paul Polivnick, David Alan Miller, Kenneth Kiesler, Jon Robertson and Jo Ann Falletta. Only Miller, assistant conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, has been regularly before local audiences.

Unexpected, in what amounts to a season of auditions, are three new pieces by young Americans programmed by the directorial aspirants. Michael Torke’s “Black and White” will receive its first performance in an orchestral version, and “Peace Overture” by Russell Peck and “Transparent Things” by Steven Stucky--incoming composer-in-residence at the Philharmonic--get West Coast premieres.

In its 10th anniversary season, the Pacific Symphony is also undergoing a turbulent change of leadership. Keith Clark’s last year as music director of the orchestra that he founded finds Neal Stulberg, Geoffrey Simon and Vahktang Jordania appearing as guest conductors, and again only Stulberg is a familiar figure, through his work with the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Pacific Symphony is planning to introduce a new work at a special gala concert in October. A date has not been fixed for the performance, however, nor has a composer been named.

The orchestra also may present a new work this summer, written for the Orange County centennial. South Coast Symphony, however, has firmer plans for the centennial--an overture by Richard Henn, the in-house arranger for the Laguna Beach Pageant of the Masters, will have its first performance in January.

The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a premiere, making a new work by Stephen Hartke the first piece to be played in its season. LACO has also participated in a consortium commission and will offer the West Coast premiere of Michael Gandolfi’s “Point of Departure” in March.

No particular anniversary is involved, but the Los Angeles Philharmonic season is liberally dotted with firsts: world premieres of works by Robert Erickson, Daniel Lentz and an as yet unnamed composer; the U.S. premiere of a piece by British composer Oliver Knussen; the West Coast premieres of works by Americans James Primosch, Eric Stokes and Elliott Carter; and two local premieres.

“The Los Angeles Philharmonic has always had a strong commitment to contemporary music,” music director Andre Previn observes. “It therefore seems natural for us now to continue this tradition by bringing to Los Angeles first performances of works by many distinguished composers.”

The Pasadena Symphony also enters the premiere lists, with the first performance of William Thomas McKinley’s Fifth Symphony in March.

ADD ORCHESTRAS: The ASCAP 1988 awards for “adventuresome programming of contemporary music” among major orchestras went to the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the New York Philharmonic. Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony won the award for “strongest commitment to new American music.”

Some of the young conductors appearing here next season were also honored by ASCAP for adventuresome programming: Geoffrey Simon and the Albany Symphony took first place among metropolitan orchestras; Jo Ann Falletta and the Bay Area Women’s Philharmonic received the third prize for community orchestras, a category where Jack Elliott’s locally based New American Orchestra was awarded a special citation; and first prize for youth orchestras went to David Alan Miller and the New York Youth Symphony.

DOMINGO CANCELLATION: The Royal Opera House has announced that Placido Domingo will not appear in “Lohengrin,” scheduled to open June 20. According to the company, Domingo has withdrawn the role from his repertory, although he offered to sing in concert performances of the opera. Eberhard Buchner and Rene Kollo will replace Domingo, who will give two concerts with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House June 28 and July 6. In an apparently unrelated development, Covent Garden also reports that American soprano Cheryl Studer is now unable to appear as Elsa--Mechthild Gessendorf will sing the role instead.

PAVAROTTI PAINTINGS PREMIERE: Pavarotti the movie and media star you know, and you may recall Pavarotti the tenor, but are you ready for Pavarotti the painter? Twenty-six oil paintings by the Italian celebrity went on display Saturday at the Detroit Public Library, while that evening Pavarotti gave a benefit concert for Michigan Opera Theatre at the Joe Louis Arena.

CHOREOGRAPHER’S LEGACY: Sally Brayley Bliss is trustee of the Antony Tudor Charitable Trust, established at the choreographer’s death a year ago. She has the authority to determine which companies may stage his works, to establish licensing fees and to maintain production standards. Income generated by the Trust will benefit the New York Public Library Dance Collection, the Dance Notation Bureau and the newly created Tudor Fund at American Ballet Theatre.

MORE TUDOR: Tudor’s one-act “Jardin aux Lilas” will enter the Oakland Ballet’s repertory next season, along with the “Hand of Fate” pas de deux from Balanchine’s “Cotillion,” which the Joffrey Ballet is reviving. The Oakland season will also feature a 50th-anniversary tribute to Eugene Loring’s “Billy the Kid,” which Loring recreated for Oakland Ballet in 1976.