Michael Torke / Fiddler on the Roof

On this day in classical music: American composer Michael Torke was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1961. Torke studied composition with Christopher Rouse and Joseph Schwantner at the Eastman School of Music. While still a student, Torke gained recognition through two of his earliest works: “Ecstatic Orange” and “Yellow Pages.” He’s best known for his 1994 orchestral work “Javelin,” composed for the 50th anniversary of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the 1996 Summer Olympics. Listen to the Texas Medical Center Orchestra perform Torke’s “Javelin.” Libi Lebel conducts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZARDqznfyo

On this day in the musical theatre: Bock and Harnick’s “Fiddler on the Roof” opened on Broadway in 1964. The enormously popular musical about an impoverished milkman, his nagging wife and five daughters introduced such hits as “Matchmaker,” “If I Were a Rich Man,” “Sunrise, Sunset” and “Miracle of Miracles.” “Fiddler” took home nine of the 10 Tony Awards for which it was nominated. The musical amassed an impressive 3,242-performance run. Watch Zero Mostel (Tevye) perform “If I Were a Rich Man.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJLZkxqtPVk 

Musical musings: Style and method are dubious bases for judging worth. Michael Torke’s “Javelin,” which Yoel Levi and the Atlanta Symphony played at Carnegie Hall on Tuesday evening, is, in format at least, frivolous, flashy and eager to please. It is also frivolity beautifully made. The racing chord figures distribute themselves cunningly throughout this brief piece; they provide balance and coherence. The rhythmic placements are eccentric but their off-centeredness has always a unifying purpose. The Atlanta handled Mr. Torke’s sophisticated writing very well. – Bernard Holland in the New York Times

Thank you for joining our conversation on Articulations. We encourage your discussion but ask that you stay within the bounds of our commenting and posting policy.