A Lyrical Interlude

Mini-concerto lets Shuhan’s flute dance

January 20, 2017 at 1:00 a.m.

by Becca Martin-Brown

Elizabeth Shuhan, the Fort Smith Symphony's principal flutist, is also a visiting lecturer of flute at Cornell University, teaches as a Suzuki flute specialist in Ithaca, N.Y., lectures in music education at Ithaca College, is an active chamber musician in Central New York and is the flutist with Opera Ithaca.
Elizabeth Shuhan, the Fort Smith Symphony's principal flutist, is also a visiting lecturer of flute at Cornell University, teaches as a Suzuki flute specialist in Ithaca, N.Y., lectures in music education at Ithaca College, is an active chamber musician in Central New York and is the flutist with Opera Ithaca.

The middle of any sandwich is intended to be the best part, and so it is for the Fort Smith Symphony's "Divergent Moods" concert Saturday. The performance is bookended by Mozart's Symphony No. 25 in G minor and Dvorak's Symphony No. 6, op. 60 in D major -- one a staple for orchestras since the film Amadeus came out in 1984, the other a composition from 1880 that has been trending for the past 10 years.

"I don't think many people in the [Fort Smith] orchestra have played the Dvorak before, so they're excited," says the symphony's music director, John Jeter. "And this is very new for the audience also. So it's kind of a double way of generating excitement. And there's so much happiness and joy in it, it's a good thing to do -- this time of year especially."

FAQ

‘Divergent Moods’

WHEN — 7:30 p.m. Saturday

WHERE — ArcBest Corp. Performing Arts Center in Fort Smith

COST — $17 to $45

INFO — 452-7575

But Liz Shuhan, the symphony's principal flutist since 1998, gets to provide the tasty tidbit leading from the Mozart symphony into intermission. It's a 1918 mini-concerto by American Impressionist composer Charles Griffes, titled "The Poem for Flute and Orchestra." It's only about 10 minutes long, but Shuhan says it's got so much packed into so little time.

"'Poem' is a one movement flute concerto whereas the traditional concerti that we play are three movements long. It has a sultry, dark quality, some folk dance moments and an intense climax before the main motive returns," Shuhan explains the piece. "Griffes was influenced by the late Romantics and the Impressionists. The listener can hear Debussy-like qualities throughout.

"I first fell in love with this piece when I was a freshman in college," she goes on. "I had heard a fellow student perform it on a degree recital. I immediately went to the listening library and checked out a record of the famous Julius Baker (former principal flutist of New York Philharmonic) performing 'Poem With Orchestra.' I was captivated. So, I truly have been preparing this piece for over 25 years now -- by teaching it, performing it and enjoying listening to other flutists play the work.

"This piece is a thrill to perform. It has so many colors, and the flutist gets to tell a sad, intense and happy story in 10 minutes. It is an absolute pleasure to play, and I am looking forward to performing it with my colleagues in the Fort Smith Symphony."

-- Becca Martin-Brown

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NAN What's Up on 01/20/2017

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