The Symphony No. 66, Op. 428, ''Hymn to Glacier Peak'' is an

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

l composition in three movements and the penultimate

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

by the American composer

Alan Hovhaness Alan Hovhaness (; March 8, 1911 – June 21, 2000) was an American-Armenian composer. He was one of the most prolific 20th-century composers, with his official catalog comprising 67 numbered symphonies (surviving manuscripts indicate over 70) and ...

. The work was commissioned by the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra and was completed in 1992, shortly before its premiere by the Seattle Youth Symphony, conducted by Ruben Gurevich, at the

Seattle Opera House Marion Oliver McCaw Hall (often abbreviated to McCaw Hall) is a performing arts hall in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located on the grounds of Seattle Center and owned by the city of Seattle, McCaw Hall's two principal tenants are the Seat ...

on May 10, 1992. The title of the work comes from the

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

Glacier Peak in the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

, visible from Hovhaness's home in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

Composition

A performance of the piece lasts approximately 19 minutes. The symphony is composed in three movements: #Andante maestoso #Andante espressivo, "Love song to Hinako" #Largo maestoso, "Prelude and Fugue" The second movement is dedicated to Hovhaness's wife Hinako Fujihara.

Reception

Andrew Farach-Colton of ''

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'' praised the piece, writing, "As the title suggests, it has a preponderance of hymn-like melody, yet there’s a valedictory quality to the music that I find touching. The finale is particularly effective, moving from hymn to one of Hovhaness’s most tuneful fugues via a darkly atmospheric interlude." Mark Swed of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' also lauded the work, further commenting, "Enthralled with mystical Asia, Bach and mountains, Alan Hovhaness is often accused of writing formulaic, long-lined and heady counterpoint that predictably resolves into spiritually grandiose cadences. But if his music is all of a mold, in the best of it the lingering melodies are gorgeous; the fugues, fabulously opulent; the finales, downright mood-elevating." On the other hand, Anthony Burton of ''

BBC Music Magazine ''BBC Music Magazine'' is a British monthly magazine that focuses primarily on classical music. History The first issue appeared in September 1992. BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the BBC was the original owner and publisher toget ...

'' was more critical of the symphony, writing of it and other late-period Hovhaness works, remarking: Another music critic similarly opined that ''Hymn to Glacier Peak'' "fades only by comparison" to Hovhaness's other work, adding, "if it were the only work he ever wrote, we would revere it as a masterpiece." Reviewing the premiere performance, Paul Schiavo remarked on the symphony's "radically conservative style". While agreeing that it may please some listeners, "it offers no experience with the rhythms, melodic contours and textures of modern music. Young players ought to be familiar with these, but Hovhaness' symphony spared the Youth Symphony any encounter with them."

References

{{Authority control 66 1992 compositions Compositions for symphony orchestra 20th-century classical music

Composition

Reception

See also

References