Michael Daugherty's Reflections on the Mississippi for tuba and orchestra, played by Hans Nickel and the WDR Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Ruth Reinhardt. Recorded live on 22/02/2024 at the WDR Funkhaus.

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Michael Daugherty - Reflections on the Mississippi for tuba and orchestra

00:00:00 I. Mist
00:05:52 II. Fury
00:09:53 III. Prayer
00:17:30 IV. Steamboat

WDR Symphony Orchestra
Hans Nickel, tuba
Ruth Reinhardt, conductor

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Introduction to the work
The American Michael Daugherty comes from Iowa and studied at the Manhattan School of Music and IRCAM in Paris, among others, before continuing to work with György Ligeti in Hamburg. From 1991 he was a composition professor at the University of Michigan. Daugherty has created an extensive oeuvre in almost all genres. Important musicians have interpreted his music, including the conductors Mariss Jansons, Markus Stenz and David Zinman, the percussionist Evelyn Glennie and the singer Thomas Hampson.
The tuba concerto entitled "Reflections on the Mississippi" was written in 2013 in memory of his father Willis and reflects on family trips to the Mississippi River near McGregor, Iowa, during his childhood. Daugherty recalls, "In July and October 2012, I returned to the Mississippi River to take two road trips from McGregor to Hannibal, Missouri. Along the Great River Road, I explored small river towns and photographed scenic views of the river. [...] All the while, I was gathering sounds, musical ideas and an emotional framework for my tuba concerto."
Daugherty described the four movements himself: "'Mist' has me reflecting on the sunrise as seen and heard through foggy haze over the Mississippi River. The title of the second movement, 'Fury,' recalls the turmoil of the Mississippi River in the fiction of William Faulkner and in the story of the Great Flood of 1927. In 'Prayer,' I meditate on the serene mood of the Mississippi River from a high vantage point overlooking the water as far as the eye can see as the sunset fades into a starry night. The last phrase, 'Steamboat', conjures up colourful stories from 'Life on the Mississippi' by Mark Twain. On the journey down the Mississippi, I composed a lively score that follows the steamboats at play from Twain's hometown of Hannibal, Missouri, to the terminus in New Orleans."
Text: Otto Hagedorn