“Michael Abels’ piece Unbound is so powerful, striking and inspiring.” Film music producer Robert Townson introduces us to Abels’ newest orchestral work, which premieres on June 14, 2024. Leonard Slatkin conducts the Los Angeles Film Orchestra’s performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The four-minute work is one of several new pieces on a program called “Pictures at an Exhibition: The Paintings of Bob Peak,” co-presented by the Abu Dhabi Festival and Robert Townson Productions. Townson hosts the event.
Townson continues. “‘Pictures at an Exhibition: The Paintings of Bob Peak,’ is a concert and recording project I have been dreaming about for 30 years! Bob Peak became my favorite artist when I was 12 years old. Having spent my career now working with most of the greatest composers in the world for the last four decades, I felt it was time to take a really big swing and make this one a reality! My collaborations and work with the other composers who I invited to be part of this ‘new Pictures at an Exhibition for a new age’ go back decades and, in some cases, to dozens of albums. (pictured left: Jesse Owens: 1936 Berlin Olympics. Illustration by Bob Peak. Courtesy: Robert Townson Productions.)
“Michael Abels and I got to know each other through so many mutual friends and running into each other at various Los Angeles concerts and music gatherings. Along with having been knocked out by Michael’s film score work, I was completely blown away by his opera Omar, when I attended its 2022 LA Opera premiere. This is what really convinced me that, if he had the time and the interest, I would love to work with him on this [project]. For each of the composers, I was torn between needing to have certain key paintings represented in the piece, but also wanting to give maximum freedom to the composers to write for a painting that really moved them. I did put a lot of thought into making selections to recommend and match up specific paintings with specific composers. But I have to say that, while doing that, I completely believe that each of these composers could really do absolutely anything! I did make the suggestion to Michael that the piece I had in mind for him was Bob Peak’s Jesse Owens painting, commissioned by the US Postal Service to commemorate the American track and field legend’s 4 Gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. This was part of a series of painting commissions from Peak called ‘Golden Moments.’ Michael agreed completely. Unbound – the piece he composed for this painting – is magnificent. Michael captured beautifully in a musical way the aspects of Owens and his performance that were conveyed also so brilliantly by Peak in a visual and artistic way.” (pictured right: Robert Townson)
Abels shares some thoughts about his new work. “Jesse Owens is an incredibly inspiring figure to me. He is known for being a multi-gold-medal-winning Olympic athlete who broke world records in front of Hitler in 1930s Berlin, exposing the fallacy of any ideology based on racial superiority. Add to this the fact that he trained for those achievements in the US at that time, with segregation and unequal access to resources. And Owens’ unprecedented victories did not assure him financial success as they would today. Instead, he continued to work many different jobs to support his family throughout the rest of his life. In that context, his achievements are more superhuman than even gold medals can convey. So Unbound – the piece I’ve written is – of course a powerful, energetic fanfare, but one that depicts a victory in a struggle that continues far beyond the finish line of a single athletic event.”
Abels adds, “Bob Peak’s painting of Owens was commissioned by the US Postal Service, as part of a series it issued in celebration of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Peak’s portrait depicts the athlete in mid-air, during his victory in the long jump. When describing the key to his success, Owens was quoted as saying ‘I let my feet spend as little time on the ground as possible.’ Peak’s painting seems to capture Owens personifying this idea. To me, this suggested music that needed to feel both powerful and yet lighter-than-air. So, my musical portrait is at turns sprinting and soaring – much as world-class athletes can [do].
“Formally, Unbound is a very traditional orchestral overture. After a brief introduction, there is a straightforward statement of the main theme, as well as most of the motifs that will ultimately create the final fanfare. Then a B section offers gentler contrasts without ever losing the constant momentum. An exciting transition introduces in the first major fanfare, which leads to a full-bore declaration of the theme as a heroic anthem. The piece concludes with an uplifting and victorious coda. Harmonically, the music enjoys playing a bit with modes and pentatonic scales. This could be interpreted as symbolic of Owens competing in Eurocentric spaces. But it is also an ongoing expression of my approach to writing orchestral music.”
