Symphonic Blues No. 6 (Concerto for blues harmonica)

The three Movments of “Symphonic Blues No. 6” plus a Coda, a Chamber Blues extra and solo violin.

See new download and CD package release

On-Line CREDITS

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Louise Frank
AUROL SUPPORT Gordon Campbell
PRODUCTION Holly and Corky Siegel
MIXING and MASTERING Ken Goerres
COMPOSER/BLUES HARMONICA Corky Siegel
COMPOSITION COMMISSIONED by Stephen Gunzenhauser for the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra - 2007
Editing Assistant: Jaime Gorgojo and Jon Tidey
Contracting Assistance: Dean Rolando - Chicago Musicians Union
Harmonica Technician: Joe Filisko
Liner Note Editing: Peter Krammer
Graphic Design: Dale Fahnstrom
Karen Leipziger: PR assistance

ORCHESTRA MEMBERS (photos below)

2 Flutes 1 & 2: Stefan Hoskuldsson ||: Chicago Symphony Orchestra Principal :||
2 Clarinets 1 & 2: John Yeh - ||: Chicago Symphony Orchestra :||
2 Oboes 1 & 2: Deb Stevensen - ||: Metropolis Quartet, Metropolis and Lake Forest Symphonies :||
2 Bassoons 1 & 2: Natalie Hoskuldsson - ||: Previously with the Metropolitan Opera :||
2 French Horns 1 & 2: Greg Flint - ||: Principal with Elgin Symphony and Joffery Ballet :||
3 Calling Birds: and a patron in a pear tree
2 Trumpets 1 & 2: David Gauger - ||: Elgin Symphony Orchestra :||
1 Trombone: Ignacio del Rey - ||: Freelance from Chicago Symphony Orchestra to Royal Symphony Orchestra of Seville :||
1 Tuba: Charlie Schuchat - ||: Elgin Symphony Orchestra :||
Violins 1: Jaime Gorgojo - ||: Chamber Blues :||
Violins 2: Chihsuan Yang - ||: Chamber Blues :||
Violas: Jeff Yang - ||: Chamber Blues :||
Cellos: Jocelyn Butler Shoulders - ||: Chamber Blues :||
Cello: Allegra Montanari - ||: Chamber Blues :||
Contrabass: Robert Kassinger, - ||: Chicago Symphony Orchestra :||
Contrabass: Collins Trier - ||: Chicago Lyric Opera - Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra :||
Contrabass: Douglas Johnson - ||: Freelance from Chicago Symphony Orchestra to Honolulu Symphony Orchestra :||
Timpani: Kalyan Pathak - ||: Chamber Blues:||
Percussion: Kalyan Pathak
(Bongos, Suspended Crash Cymbal, Woodblocks, Tam Tam, Cowbell, Tambourine, Bass Drum, Xylophone, Cuica Drum, Marimba, Tubular Bells, Triangle, Timbales, Cowbell, Tabla
Tabla solo & Padhant (Spoken Tabla) for Coda: Kalyan Pathak

Kickstarter Crowdfunding
MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR. Elizabeth Foster, Gordon Radley, //  2nd Kickstarter:  Elizabeth Foster, Everette Taylor, Other: Louise Frank, Dale Fahnstrom, Ken Goerres

PATRON  Carol Appel, Tom Challenger, Lois Schneider

MISSION ADVOCATE PLUS  Tom Rush, Peter & Annette Krammer, Nancy Katz, Emily Guthrie, Hank Newman, Louise Frank, Sandra Siegel, Marcia Blake and Jim Collins,  //  2nd Kickstarter: Tom Rush, Scott Johnson,

MISSION ADVOCATE.  Joy Dahl,  Robert K. Quin, David Fink, Robert Joseph, Harriet S. Hawkins, Kathy Thompson, Phil Baron, Kenneth Manaster, Hillel Frankel, Marty Gunther, Libby and John Christianson, Jeanne Leininger, Michael Teach, Juliet Duncanson, Dave, Matthew Brockmeier, Celeste Kelly, Steve Robinson, Rick David, Tim Sandberg, Kathy Schalk-Greene, John Doty, Libby Bjornstad, Bill Graessle, Bruce Chudacoff, Madhavi Rathod, Ed Klein, Anthony Jasaitis, Sarah Vanderwicken, Murray Plotkin, Jim Lamberson, Jerry Robin, Chris Slivon, Lisa Marie Flores, John and Evie Mahrte, John Davis, // Direct Contributions from “Unrecorded Love” website page: Sandra Siegel, Dennis McClure, Dorthea Martin, Steve and Peggy Gonter, John Giese

//  2nd Kickstarter: Robert Joseph, Bob Knipfer, Harriet S. Hawkins, Emily Guthrie, Lois Schneider,

CROWDFUNDING TEAM.  John Pollitz, Katherine Puckett, BE Stewart, Donald Kohn, Betsy Heffelfinger, Rob Benetti, Peter Nemeth, Lee Katz, Stephen Chernaik, Liz Whitlock, Sebastian Palmigiani, Dave D K Kolars, Howard Siegel, Dianne Burgis, Don Edgren, Bob Knipfer, Tim Mocarski, David Child, CS Mitchell, Phillip Zisook, Glenna Eaves, Robin Cook, Victoria Munoz, Loi Eberle, Donald Albertson, Leslie Ellis, Wesley Urschel, Rick Simons, Emily Christensen, Debba Becker-Pawlik, David Butschli, Lucky Gorman, Charles Osgood, Linda Mertz, Ken ( HOBO BILL ) Staub, Terry Abrahamson, Terrilynn Meece, Lincoln Zimmanck, Michael Caplan, Philip Feo, Nicole Rand, Charles Seton, Margot Myers, Jim Bulger, Deborah Blinder, Christa Tyjewski, Richard Sladek, Marilyn Rea Beyer, Ina Strickland, Tim McGhie, Carl Wiggs, Ralph and Marta Nicholas, Sam Boskey, Marty Bariff, Stephen Crimi, Sheila Fahey, Susan Noordyk, Jane Gerloff, Ed Leslie, Ruthanne Bessman, Satoshi Kawashima, Steve Rathnow, Tessa, Steve Witt, David Lee Paul  // Direct Contributions from “Unrecorded Love” website page:  Jill Mchugh,  Martin Anderson, Dan Hearty, Peter Glarborg, Geoffrey Seaman,  //  2nd Kickstarter: Rick Funcik, Lee Katz, BE Stewart, Donald Kohn, Susan Straus, Tim Mocarski, Anthony Jasaitis, Peter Nemeth, Steve Duchrow, Gregg Porter, Satoshi Kawashima, Mitchell A Lieber, Martin Anderson, Jeanne Leininger, Soozee Alterman, Kiko Peto, Rbuettner, Don Elmore, Stuart Sklair, Cindy Byram,  Mindy Giles, Larry Buss, Lori Loureiro, Jim Lamberson, Kedeomas, Clair johnson, Jonas Microwave_131, //  More Website contributions: Hilma Cooper, Kevin Tansey

HONORARY.   Barbra Marks and Bettye Kelly (Howlin’ Wolf’s daughters), Debbie Lay (Sam Lay’s daughter), Marian Diaz (Little Walter’s daughter), Fritz Kielsmeier (special support)

LINER NOTES:

THE STORY:  I can't tell the symphonic blues story without crediting the blues masters, Seiji Ozawa, and William Russo. I’ve told this story a thousand times and I’m still not tired of telling it. 

INNOCENT VICTIM OF INCREDIBLE GOOD FORTUNE: In early 1965 Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and the other masters of the blues were flying out of the grooves of my vinyl recordings as I danced around my parents’ home in ecstasy.  With my new musical partner, Jim Schwall, we learned enough tunes for a set and began looking for somewhere to play. One afternoon we walked innocently into a tavern across the tracks. The tavern had a stage, and we asked the owner if we could play there. We auditioned for the afternoon ladies crowd and were hired on the spot to play from 9 pm until 4 am every Thursday night. The owner hired a bass player and drummer to work with us each night. Flying right out of the grooves of my vinyl recordings and jumping right onstage with us every Thursday night were the blues icons we idolized. Talk about surprises! They sat in with us, took us under their wings and returned the love we showed for them.  Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Little Walter, Otis Spann, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells. If that wasn’t enough, the bass players and drummers turned out to be all the famous Chicago players who were available on any particular night. We were embraced by the blues community as soon as we walked in.  What good fortune! Later on we met the greatest of them all, drummer Sam Lay. He became one of our beloved and long-term members with the Siegel-Schwall band. 

A BLUES PLAYER AND A CLASSICAL CONDUCTOR WALK INTO A BAR: In 1966, when Siegel-Schwall became an official band, one fellow came into Big John’s for our performances night after night and stayed all night. Big John’s was a tiny club in Chicago's Old Town and is now known as ground zero for the blues rock explosion. It was the home of my contemporaries; Paul Butterfield, Mike Bloomfield Steve Miller, Barry Goldberg, Harvey Mandel, Nick Gravenites, Charlie Musselwhite, and many of the original Chicago Blues masters, including Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters. One auspicious night this fan came up to me and said, “Corky, I would like your band to jam with my band.” I thought; “Who is this guy and what's his band?” His band was the Chicago Symphony, and he was Maestro Seiji Ozawa. And so, in 1966 I was appointed to my role of bringing blues to classical music.  Dirty work, but somebody had to do it! And I soon found out why.

We chose a friend, Bill Russo, to compose Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra. The premiere was with the Chicago Symphony in 1968 at Ravina. After that, Siegel-Schwall took a few months off, and during our break, I had a Yoda moment. 

ABOUT HARMONY: In 1969 America was so divided. I was only 24, and I was greeted at Lincoln Center with the longest and most intense vitriol from an audience that I could imagine. The audience was outraged that hippies, in a blues band, were onstage as guest soloists with their New York Philharmonic. Seiji Ozawa already knew what we should do but he asked me, and I responded through the boos and yelling; “Let's have some fun!” 

We reached the last measures of William Russo's Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra to a thunderous, standing ovation. The Symphony president told me that it was the longest and most intense standing ovation he had ever seen. He compared this to Enrico Caruso's last appearance. The headline in the New York Times the following morning from Harold C. Schoenberg, the feared classical music critic (and Pulitzer Prize winner) read, “They Love Corky Siegel in Lincoln Center.”  The review ended with, “Cheers rang though Philharmonic Hall. The audience did not merely like it, the audience loved it!” 

That was my first real experience of music’s power to bring people together in harmony. My role in life became harmony: musical harmony, my inner harmony, and social harmony. Democracy is the path for social harmony, peaceful discourse, where we all have some voice.  May we never replace democracy for a short-term idea or wish. 

TURNING DOWN SAN FRANCISCO:  My first commission to compose symphonic music came in 1975 from Arthur Fiedler, the San Francisco Symphony, and the City of San Francisco. I had never done any work like this - or should I say, I never had any fun like this. My education in music composition amounted to a failing grade in music theory 101. My only attempt at a composition while at Roosevelt University was rejected by the professor. So, with that kind of track record, I felt I had enough information to know that turning down the offer was the smart decision.  But music doesn't care about this kind of smarts. Martin Snipper from the San Francisco Arts Commission wouldn't take “no” for an answer. He even extended the offer as a one-year residency. Bill Russo, my mentor, and friend, had already composed Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra and Street Music for me.  When the briefcase with the only completed Street Music score was stolen from Bill’s car, he turned to me and said, “It will be better the second time.”   Both works became major selling albums on the strictly classical label, Deutsche Grammophon. Bill wanted me to accept the offer and said he would help by finding a copyist and oversee the process. With that kind of love, I couldn't refuse.

SUCCESS! These inaugural works were a smashing success. We debuted in front of an audience of 6000 at the San Francisco Civic Auditorium in 1976. It was my first major composition, and everyone urged me to compose more, saying they were like nothing they had heard before. David Koppel, who was our personal agent at the time brought a sneak recording of the project to Steve Ovitsky the manager of the Grant Park Symphony around 1980 without informing me, and that continued the ball rolling to my becoming a reluctant symphonic composer. I had already performed the first Russo work for Ovitsky at Grant Park once, and would perform it again for him a few years later. Then after hearing the Fiedler tape, he commissioned me, along with the National Symphony at Kennedy Center, to expand the original compositions with three more sonatas. (I use “sonata” for works that include sung lyrics. The actual term is cantata).

IT'S THE HEART, STUPID: I already knew “It's all about the heart” but the 1983 rehearsal with the Grant Park Symphony was filled with surprises that shaped my future: I had written a trumpet part that was ridiculously simple and repetitive. Then I erased it because I was sure the trumpet player would kill me. So, I rewrote the part so the trumpet player wouldn't kill me. Then I put the original part back because I knew I should go with my heart even if some critics might kill me. During the rehearsal, the trumpet player kept looking over at me. Fearful of death I thought, Oh no! He approached me after the rehearsal and said he wanted to know why I wrote that trumpet part. Oh no! Then, he invited me to lunch. Oh no! But then he told me he loved playing that part and was curious why I had written something like that. LOL! So, all the Chamber Blues compositions and everything that followed were forever steeped securely in this sacred teaching, “It's the heart, stupid.” 

CHAMBER BLUES: The 1983 preparation and performance at Grant Park of the three Fiedler sonatas, and the three new sonatas inspired the idea of Chamber Blues. Writing orchestra works was extremely fulfilling and fun, but totally time consuming. Writing for a string quartet seemed like it would be a much friendlier task. And then there is the healing sound of a string quartet. I wanted that! There were no classical ensembles with a blues harmonica player, so either I would do it, or it wouldn’t exist. I could only perform the symphony works when a symphony agreed to do it. Chamber Blues would be portable. I could fit the group easily into a bus - and I would get to drive the bus! 

I started writing the Chamber Blues works in 1983. As with the symphonic works, I didn't want the orchestra or the string quartet to be the back-up band. Nor should the two genres blend into one. I wanted the process to bring the singular compositional aspects of classical music and the blues in an equal partnership where each genre maintains their unique characters and you can hear them, not blending, but working together - chasing each other around the room. 

MORE SYMPHONIC COMMISSIONS: Because of the success of the Grant Park and National Symphony sonatas, Ovitsky commissioned me once again. Blues for a Green Planet was a straight orchestra piece, and David Amram conducted that one. I wrote David into a little surprise cadenza for some of his penny whistle adventures he was known for. During the rehearsals, the orchestra went on strike. Consequently, David and orchestra had less time to rehearse the work than the actual length of the work. But David pulled it off!  The orchestra stumbled through the first few measures and David kept commenting while flipping pages; “Beautiful, beautiful. Let's move on.” The performance was a success and was held together thanks to the fearless genius of David Amram.   

TURNING DOWN SYMPHONIC BLUES Nº6: I performed Russo's Street Music on two separate occasions for the Lancaster Orchestra with Stephen Gunzenhauser. Their mission forbade performing anything more than once. 🙂 But they especially loved that work. Gunzenhauser began asking me to compose a new work for him because there was no way they were going to perform Street Music for a third time. I already knew it would be too much work to compose yet another orchestra piece. But after repeated protests, I caved, because he went ahead and scheduled the premiere even though I hadn't yet agreed to compose a work. He said I could base the works on parts of my favorite Chamber Blues compositions, which made it much easier. Steven did schedule a second performance but it was cancelled because of Covid.  And due to Steven Gunzenhauser's support, the words “symphonic composer” began appearing in my bio. Thank you, Stephen! 

UNRECORDED LOVE: None of these works, the first Fiedler commission, the two Grant Park Symphony commissions for Steve Ovitsky, or the two commissions from Steven Gunzenhauser were recorded. I also had reams of unrecorded works from Chamber Blues and solo material. As I approached my 80th birthday, I felt it was time to decide if I wanted these popular works to disappear into oblivion and never be heard again. I had to leave this decision up to the community. Either they would embrace these projects and fund them or not. The community lovingly stepped up. This turned into three albums, all released in September 2022: Chamber Blues MORE Different Voices, Songs for Truth and Harmony, and a solo album, Something Wrong. I am also slowly releasing a series of songs called, Favorite Songs from the Cutting Room Floor that I composed and performed, but never recorded. 

 What most tugged at my heart was that Symphonic Blues Nº6 would never be heard by anyone other than those in attendance for its live performances.  I toured with this work all over the world, and the response from conductors, concertmasters, orchestra members, opera singers, and other living composers, was that there is nothing like this. I agreed! It must be recorded. One more time, the community came through and funded the project. These are not my projects. We did this together. The recording and release of Symphonic Blues Nº6 is a community project with the co-producers, musicians, and financial contributors. Having the names and good wishes of these partners on this magnum project is of profound importance.  

MAESTRO SEIJI OZAWA: My dearest friend, mentor, and supporter Seiji Ozawa, passed through this dimension of life on earth leaving nothing but beauty and harmony behind. He always said to me that bringing the blues to classical music is very important. He was the one force that enabled it by getting commissions for those first works, setting up performances with major orchestras, and convincing Deutsche Grammophon to record both works. He even brought us to Tanglewood with the Boston Symphony, and we got to hang with Madame Koussevitzky - just like the scene in the movie Bernstein - but she never asked me to change my name. (In the movie her husband strongly suggested that Bernstein change his name).

Seiji said that classical music always relied on the folk forms of the day to progress, but it had been stuck for so long. The classical world mostly looked down on blues as primitive and unsophisticated. And the blues world ignored classical music as square. He said that blues would be the spark to reignite the classical form and the classical music repertoire. He also insisted that presenting the symphonic blues form would bring the disparate audiences of blues and classical together, something the world needed at the time, and still needs. In 1966 he chose me to do this, and he insisted that I pursue this intently. 

My late friend Jim Bessman, who wrote for Billboard Magazine, saw Seiji crossing the street in front of Philharmonic Hall one time and yelled to him: “Hey Seiji, Corky Siegel says hello!” Jim told me that Seiji's response from across the street was: “Tell Corky I love him!” I can still imagine his words echoing down the streets of New York City. I love you too Seiji.  

TECHNICAL NOTES - SYMPHONIC BLUES Nº6: The three movements are based on these Chamber Blues compositions: Opus 12 - Filisko’s Dream; Opus 19 - Uptown Shoes, and Opus 8 - Allegro. Opus 8 was inspired from a bass line Rollo Radford, the bassist for Siegel-Schwall, played on the song Midnight Radio, that I wrote with James Lee Stanley. When I composed Opus 8 and the third movement of Symphonic Blues, I envisioned Rollo there with me. I added a coda from Symphonic Blues Nº7 that features Kalyan Pathak in an extended tabla solo embedded in the orchestra. Both the second and third movements include a cadenza that is from a handbag recording at a sneak preview in 2007.  The official premiere took place in 2008.  The original orchestra has been removed, the new orchestra added, and all that is left from the original 2007 recording is the harmonica cadenza and the audience.  In the third movement, the applause is long for a recording but the quips that happen at the end of the applause are a perfect segue into the coda. I love this, because it transports us through time and space from a 2024 studio style recording to the 2007 sneak preview with audience response, making us all part of the event.  A note about Opus 12 - Filisko’s Dream: It is named after Joe Filisko, harmonica builder, customizer, repair guru and player. Joe is an important figure for Hohner Harmonicas and an important figure in this composition of the first movement, because the harmonica I use for the beginning and ending sections is specially tuned by Filisko himself to what might be called “open tuning” in guitar jargon.  

ALL SOLOISTS: Each musician was recorded separately. The musicians never received any reference to the music, audio or written, aside from their own part and tempo markings. Therefore, each part is a solo part and each performer a soloist throughout the whole work. My style of composition incorporates extreme dynamic markings on almost every note of the part to help ensure expression. Our mixing guru Ken Goerres and the rest of the production team agreed that we didn’t want to try to replicate a symphony orchestra. That would be limiting. We just wanted to do whatever we could to create a magnificent sonic experience. – Corky Siegel

Photo Credits: Holly Siegel (Cover, Natalie, Robert Kassinger); Dave Noble (back cover); Chuck Osgood (Sam Lay, Jocelyn Shoulders, Chihsuan Yang, Jeff Yang, Kalyan Pathak); Colin Johnston (Corky Three Fingers); Dave Kopple (Russo and Siegel); Todd Rosenberg (John Yeh and Stefan Hoskuldsson); Brian Malloy (Greg Flint); Micah Gleason (Allegra Montanari) Ian McSheffrey (Collins Trier) Ian McSheffrey (Douglass Johnson)