Previn: Musical Brush Strokes

25th September 2006

“When one artist salutes another artist…it’s about exchanging things of beauty; each in his own art form.” So muses Michael Morgan, music director of the Sacramento Philharmonic, as the orchestra celebrates its tenth anniversary with the 14 October world premiere of André Previn’s Night Thoughts. Commissioned as part of the orchestra’s California Compositions initiative, Night Thoughts is the first work presented in a multi-year project that celebrates the state’s greatest achievers in the arts and other fields. Previn’s work honors Sacramento native and internationally known artist Wayne Thiebaud. “I am very pleased by the idea that I am part of a celebration of Mr. Thiebaud’s extraordinary artistry,” Previn comments. “He is certainly a major voice in American contemporary painting and I admire him boundlessly.”

Morgan continues, “Maestro Previn is one of the great minds of the music world today and it is an honor for the Philharmonic and for Sacramento that he has written a piece for our orchestra to pay tribute to Mr. Thiebaud. While Night Thoughts has no direct connection to any Thiebaud painting, it does take a variety of orchestral colors and puts them together in ways ranging from lyrical to rhythmic and from quiet to full sounding. When one artist salutes another artist, it’s not necessarily about making a direct connection between the two artists’ works. Often it’s about exchanging things of beauty; each in his own art form.”


Night Thoughts
Duration: c. 15’
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