ARTISTS: Steve Hackman, conductor/creator San Diego Symphony Orchestra About the concert: Tchaikovsky X. Drake is a symphonic synthesis that blends the music of two composer-romanticists separated by almost a century. Twenty-two songs of Drake are woven into Piotr Tchaikovsky’s epic Fifth Symphony, as the lyrics of the former serve to advance the narrative program of the latter. We hear Drake’s melodies soaring in tandem with Tchaikovsky’s; his raps motoring almost impossibly with Tchaikovsky’s rhythmic figures; then vignettes of Drake’s music with Tchaikovsky’s motives and melodies superimposed over the top. Every possibility of synthesis is joyfully and beautifully explored. Joining the full symphony orchestra are three singers, one rapper, a drummer and a bassist; the piece truly alternates between a romantic orchestral sound and a contemporary hip-hop/classical fusion. Conductor/creator Steve Hackman also plays piano for several interludes and songs. Related links: The Shell on Instagram | Facebook
