Composer brings hard rock sensibilities to symphonic works

The Spokane Symphony’s Splash concerts often feature compositions that are slightly off the beaten path. Consider Friday night’s program, which may be the only time you’ll hear Frank Zappa and Ludwig van Beethoven on the same bill.

Along with Zappa’s “G-Spot Tornado” and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8, the season’s first Splash concert will feature Canadian composer Harry Stafylakis’ “Arc of Horizon,” which is making its West Coast premiere.

Stafylakis’ piece was originally commissioned for chamber orchestra for the Lake George Music Festival in New York, but he has re-arranged it to accommodate a full orchestra specifically for the Spokane Symphony to play. (The Spokane Symphony performed Stafylakis’ 2013 composition “Brittle Fracture” at one of its Soirees on the Edge last year.)

“It’s the West Coast premiere because it’s been performed before,” Stafylakis said of the piece. “But in another sense, it’s the world premiere of the full orchestra version.”

Stafylakis started playing piano as a child, and he later picked up a guitar and focused on heavy metal. Although the two might seem diametrically opposed, Stafylakis says his love of hard rock certainly informs his symphonic composing.

“I was professionally active as a metal performer and songwriter for many years,” he said, “and I brought that baggage with me back into the world of contemporary music. That’s very much part of me.”

“Arc of Horizon” was written as a musical tribute to Lake George, which is geographically positioned between Stafylakis’ native Montreal, where he was born in 1982, and his current home of New York City.

“I wanted to find a way to tie this piece into Lake George and celebrate it in some way,” Stafylakis said. “I also wanted to explore my musical past associated with Montreal and my new musical persona as a contemporary classical composer in New York City. So this piece is an homage to both sides. … It’s a lot about the excitement and adventure of taking off on a journey and the nostalgia of looking back at where you came from.”

The piece itself is unpredictable and experimental, indicative of the more outré program choices conductor Eckart Preu often makes with Splash concerts.

“There’s always at least two semi-independent streams of music going on at the same time,” Stafylakis said. “You can focus on whatever the obvious melody is, and sometimes you can let your mind zoom out a little bit, like when you’re looking at one those optical illusion images. You might notice some different shapes going on at the same time that weren’t as obvious upon first listen.”

Stafylakis hasn’t yet heard the full symphony arrangement of “Arc of Horizon,” but he says he’ll be able to sit in on a rehearsal in the days before the concert.

“It’s incredibly exciting,” he said. “It’s really a unique opportunity for a young composer to have the opportunity to work on a rather substantial piece for a full orchestra. That doesn’t happen very often.”