The Boston Symphony Orchestra performed the last concert of a program including the American premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage's Speranza" and Gustav Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde" last week. Although stylistically different, both pieces were thematically similar: each one expressed a feeling of hope. The title of the first work, "Speranza," means hope in Italian, and the names of the four movements of the piece come from Arabic, German, Gaelic and Hebrew equivalents: "Amal," "Hoffen," "Dochas" and "Tikvah." The pairing of this work with Mahler's orchestral song was notable because "Das Lied von der Erde" also possesses pan-cultural elements, with the piece including German translations of Chinese poetry.
Mark-Anthony Turnage originally composed "Speranza" in memory of poets and writers who had committed suicide, such as Romanian poet Paul Celan. In an interview with boosey.com, Turnage explained that he initially wanted to write "a big, dark, despairing work." However, he decided what he had written was a bit too melancholic, especially for a 45-minute piece, and began incorporating more positive elements - transforming the piece into something more uplifting and optimistic. The work has taken a decidedly different turn from his initial intentions, but Turnage noted that "although 'Speranza' shimmers a lot, I suspect the dark heart of the original idea still peeks through."
And he is certainly right. There are moments when "Speranza" did "shimmer" - the third movement was especially energetic with its jazzy, syncopated melodic ideas. Turnage's music is much influenced by jazz
