Vincent Persichetti / Finian’s Rainbow

On this day in classical music: The Baldwin Wallace Conservatory Orchestra gave the world premiere of Vincent Persichetti’s “Symphony No. 8” in 1967. Persichetti taught composition at The Juilliard School beginning in 1947 and became chairman of the composition department in 1963. Persichetti was highly prolific, writing nine symphonies, a large body of work for piano, 25 Parables, 15 Serenades and several works for band. Listen to Jorge Mester and the Louisville Orchestra perform the second movement (Andante sostenuto) of Persichetti’s “Symphony No. 8.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBXNVpIDAPc

On this day in the musical theatre: A revival of “Finian’s Rainbow” opened on Broadway in 2009. Featuring a tuneful score by Burton Lane and E.Y. Harburg, “Finian’s Rainbow” is the story of an Irishman who moves to the mythical U.S. state of Missitucky with his daughter. Finian believes if he buries a stolen pot of gold near Fort Knox, it will grow. Hoping to foil his efforts is Og, a leprechaun who will become human if he is unable to recover the gold. A corrupt and bigoted senator complicates the story and accidentally is turned black (only temporarily but long enough to realize the extent of his bigotry) by Finian’s daughter Sharon. All the conflicts get resolved before the final curtain. The revival managed a two-month run. Listen to Cheyenne Jackson and Kate Baldwin sing “Old Devil Moon.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVOlGqJSwno

Musical musings: The latest transfer from the beloved City Center Encores! series of musicals in concert, “Finian’s Rainbow” is also the most unlikely. Pretty much nobody expected to see this oddity cavorting beneath a Broadway proscenium again, although the original production was a solid hit that ran for a year and a half when it opened in 1947. Since then the show has come to be considered too corny, too confused, too tainted by misconceptions about its racial politics. But beautiful music has a way of binding together the most unlikely materials, and the score for “Finian’s Rainbow,” by the lyricist E. Y. Harburg and the composer Burton Lane, is itself an overflowing pot of memorable songs, by turns yearning and bouncy, mocking and sincere, soft as a rose petal and clever as a crossword. – Charles Isherwood in The New York Times

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