This fall marks a milestone for Abrams, when he returns to the Los Angeles Philharmonic to conduct the world premiere of his own violin concerto Seasons of America, composed for and featuring violinist Ray Chen and co-commissioned by the LA Phil and Louisville Orchestra. The work is showcased on a program that surveys more than a century of American symphonic music, also including Julia Perry’s A Short Piece for Orchestra, Charles Ives’s Three Places in New England, and George Gershwin’s An American in Paris (Oct 29 & Nov 1). Abrams says:
“In writing this violin concerto, I was fascinated by the different definitions of seasons, which can range from the literal – the weather, climate, and look of a place at a particular time of year – to the figurative sense of seasons as cycles in one's life or in the history of nations. This work certainly evokes archetypal seasonal postcards from iconic American landscapes, including an Appalachian Kentucky spring, a Southern California summer, and a Northeastern fall. It also portrays another idea of America in its seasons: a country shaped by our changing history, our politics, our people – the cycles of peace, conflict, reflection, and growth that define our history and suggest our future. As a country we move through figurative years of spring, summer, fall, and winter; we're continually seeking the moment when we transcend ourselves and find renewal. Drawing on the dual influence of Vivaldi’s legacy and American vernacular music, the Seasons of America continues the quintessential American practice of synthesizing the old and the new, the past and the future, the external and the internal, seeking joy and exuberance in the end.”
As an upbeat to the premiere of his concerto, Abrams teams up with his longtime friend and collaborator Yuja Wang for a performance at the LA Phil Gala, with the pianist performing Alexander Tsfasman’s Jazz Suite and selected movements from Barber’s Piano Concerto on a program with music of Jerry Goldsmith, Bernard Herrmann, Leonard Bernstein, and Michael Tilson Thomas (Oct 1).