Brian and Kim Robbins opened their lovely home to a private piano recital for top supporters of the Indian River Symphonic Association featuring a performance by Andrew Galuska.
Now based in Sarasota, Galuska was the former director of Music and Fine Arts at the Community Church of Vero Beach. An award-winning musician, Galuska has an organ and choral repertoire that spans six centuries and, as a prolific composer, has premiered his works in this country and abroad.
He was in town to perform the next day as the organ soloist with the Brevard Symphony Orchestra in a program highlighted by the monumental Symphony No. 3 Organ by Camille Saint-Saens.
Additionally, earlier in the week, Galuska had treated IRSA members to a Behind the Pipes presentation, offering an in-depth look of the inner workings of the church’s magnificent Lively Fulcher Pipe Organ, wherein he described its technical aspects, including its 4,083 pipes.
“Thank you for supporting such a great organization that brings the finest orchestras in the world right here to our backyard,” said Galuska, who treated guests to several improvisations based on Franz Schubert’s wonderful poetry.
“I’m going to read them to you and then I’m going to improvise a sonata for you,” he explained, noting that the first piece would explore Schubert’s famous “To Music” (An die Musik), about the power of music.
Ensuing improvisational sonatas came after reading the famous Erl-King (Erlkönig), a darkly dramatic ballad which has its roots in a Scandinavian folktale, and next after reading Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel (Gretchen am Spinnrade), wherein Gretchen is despaired by thoughts of Faust and all he has promised.
After thanking his appreciative audience, he answered some of their questions, including whether he would be able to play the same improvisation another time, to which he responded, “It lasts for a couple of hours, and then it’s gone.”
Asked how he approaches composing verses improvisation, he replied that they are completely different.
“Rarely do I take something that I have improvised and put it on paper. Composing is kind of like painting. It’s a craft where you sit down and you look at it, there are rules,” Galuska explained.
“Improvisation is free; depending on poetry or, if someone says, ‘Hey play me some blues or ragtime or whatever.’ I like to say that it’s like me tapping into the universe because there’s something there that’s putting that in my mind.”
Of the improvisation process, Galuska said, “I take the themes, just like a painter would use his pallet, and I weave the colors together. That’s how I improvise. I am painting a musical picture for you, based on the poetry, based on the beautiful scenery.”
Lois Conrad, IRSA’s new board president, thanked guests for their support, which enables them to bring in such remarkable orchestras.
“We hope this is a reflection of how people feel about our program and that they feel confident that we are bringing to Vero Beach what you would like to hear,” said Conrad.
The 2006 IRSA season includes the Minería Symphony Orchestra of Mexico on Jan. 15, PFK-Prague Philharmonia on Jan. 20, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra on March 5, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields on March 16, and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra on March 24.
For more information, visit IRSymphonic.org.
Photos by Joshua Kodis
