Description

Chamber Symphony: Pilatus was commissioned by Camerata Chicago and the Buonacorsi Foundation with assistance from the Swiss Benevolence Society of Chicago who provided Mr. Zupko with a residency in Lucerne, Switzerland where he composed this work especially for Camerata’s European tour in June 2013. Scored for chamber orchestra (double winds, 2 trumpets, 2 horns, percussion and strings), Pilatus was inspired by Lucern’s highest peak, Mt. Pilatus. Surrounded by folklore, including dragon citings and a legend where it was thought that the restless ghost of Pontius Pilate rose from a tiny lake on the mountain every Good Friday to wash the blood of Christ from his hands, this mountain caries with it a grandeur and mystique that is felt to this very day as one travels its many paths. The Chamber Symphony: Pilatus embodies impressions of this significant landmark from the standpoint of the overwhelming sensual experience, heard in the grandiose sweeping gestures of the opening and closing sections, as well as the somewhat “supernatural” experience associated with the legends, here characterized by the lyrical and yet somewhat “ghostly” music of the middle section.