糖心传媒

Saying that a piece of music wanders aimlessly isn鈥檛 often considered to be complimentary. But 糖心传媒 Professor of Music Paul Moravec鈥檚 Sempre Diritto!, a musical ode to walking in Venice, circles in on itself as if looking for a focal point.

The 2004 Pulitzer Prize winner composed the single-movement sinfonietta in 1992. The piece was revived by the League of Composers (of which Moravec is a former secretary) as part of the organization鈥檚 New York Philharmonic Biennial at Miller Theatre at Columbia University on June 1, 2016. The piece seemed inspired not only by the streets but the history of the city that was once known as听 the Republic of Music, playing up suspense with a sustained high note in the violins like something one might expect from a Bernard Herrmann score to an Alfred Hitchcock movie, or, indeed, from the composer of the opera The Shining. Contrasting melody lines fall almost imperceptibly into unison with some remarkably scored string passages. While the title might be humorous (or at least the story behind it might), the music is filled with a low-level dread of being lost in a strange land.

鈥淚t鈥檚 about getting lost in Venice,鈥� Moravec said, speaking in his New York City apartment. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an incredibly labyrinthine city. The first time I was there, when you ask how do you get somewhere, they say 鈥榮traight ahead, you can鈥檛 miss it.鈥� But nothing is straight ahead. It cracked me up. It鈥檚 a piece that winds around and finally finds itself.鈥�

If it seems like a rather literal response to the notion of losing one鈥檚 way in a strange city, that may be because Moravec can be, at times, something of a storyteller. Earlier this year, in fact, he earned high praise for the premiere of his opera The Shining, written with librettist Mark Campbell and adapted from Stephen King鈥檚 1977 novel.

The Wall Street Journal鈥檚 Heide Waleson wrote that 鈥淢r. Moravec鈥檚 witty, evocative music strikes a good balance between the sincere and the creepy.鈥� Broadway World said the score was 鈥渇ull of discomfiting themes that clash and collide.鈥� And in a June 3 post on The Economist website, a writer identified as J.C.T. said that 鈥淢r Moravic鈥檚 score uses an effective mix of atonal shrieks and haunting echoes of big-band 1920s music.鈥�

Despite a relatively short run of only four nights鈥攖he Minnesota Opera gave听the work鈥檚 premiere on May 7, 2016鈥擬oravec and Campbell鈥檚 adaptation had critics singing their praises. Writing in Opera News, Joshua Rosenblum said, 鈥淭he scary parts sound like a first-rate horror movie score, and I mean that as a compliment鈥攖he music is impressively creative, maximally effective, and it continues to outdo itself throughout the piece,鈥� and called one climactic scene 鈥渁s riveting as anything I鈥檝e ever seen in a theater. What a wonderful thing to be able to say about a new American opera.鈥�

It wasn鈥檛 the first time, of course, that King鈥檚 novel听 was brought to life. Stanley Kubrick鈥檚 1980 film, starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, remains a standard-bearer of smart horror cinema. But as iconic as the movie is, Moravec said it wasn鈥檛 difficult to set it aside, along with Kubrick鈥檚 score, which included works by such major 20th-century composers as B茅la Bart贸k and Krzysztof Penderecki.

鈥淚n working from Stephen King鈥檚 novel and Mark鈥檚 libretto, it was easy to forget any other association,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he book is so compelling. It鈥檚 practically an opera to begin with. It鈥檚 about love, death, power鈥攁ll these very strong emotions.

鈥淭he first question an opera composer has to answer is 鈥榃hy are these characters singing?鈥欌�� he added. 鈥�The Shining answers that question right off the bat.鈥�

Paul Moravec has published more than 125 compositions for solo instrument, mixed ensemble, orchestra and chorus. His compositions have been recorded by some significant performers and rising stars, including pianists Stephen Gosling and Anthony de Mare and violinist Hilary Hahn. In September, Opera Orlando gave the premiere to his Light Shall Lift Us, a choral work written for the victims of the Pulse Night Club killings, as a part of its One Voice Orlando:听A Celebration in Song听benefit concert.

In addition to his Pulitzer Prize in Music, Moravec has earned a Rome Prize Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, three awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Rockefeller Foundation.