It's rare to hear two commissions on the same concert (maybe not if you're the Louisville Orchestra), but what makes this upcoming concert unique is the time separating each commission: Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's "Double Concerto" (for violin and cello) comes from 1991, at the tail end of the orchestra's long-running commissioning era that started in the 1950s.
The other new work comes from just this past year or so, in the form of a double concerto by recent Creators Corps composer Alex Berko, written specifically Gabe Lefkowitz (concertmaster) and Nick Finch (principal cellist). Joseph Young will conduct.
We talked about the collaborative, almost chamber music quality of a double concerto, and being on the requesting end of a commission: what can a performer ask for from the composer? Do they get what they ask for?
I'll talk to Gabe and Nick again on stage at Whitney Hall Friday morning at 10am and Saturday evening at 6:15pm.
