Angelique Poteat is a native of the Pacific Northwest. Her music has been recorded and performed on four continents by ensembles including the Seattle Symphony, Yakima Symphony, and arx Percussion Duo. Poteat received the 2015 American Prize in Composition for her work Beyond Much Difference, was honored as a 2023 and 2015 CityArtist from the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, and was the 2022-23 Artist-in-Residence for the Seattle Symphony. Poteat has been principal clarinetist of the Yakima Symphony since 2012, and she also performs frequently with the Seattle Modern Orchestra, Northwest Sinfonietta, and the Seattle Symphony, among many other groups. 

Breathe, Come Together, Embrace was composed for and premiered by the Seattle Symphony in September of 2022. Described by the Seattle Times as “extremely accomplished and vividly picturesque, with a wide palette of tonal colors and lots of contrasts,” the work is, in the composer’s words, “inspired by reverence for being able to breathe freely, gather with loved ones, and embrace each other and cultural values, all things that were taboo in the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the piece, breathing is thought of gesturally, like an ascending flourish in the winds and strings representing one’s breath catching in excitement. Eventually, instrumental groupings unite and together embrace themes that are gradually presented throughout the piece.” 

In September 1865, Nikolai Rubinstein, brother of the famous pianist Anton, came to St. Petersburg to recruit a teacher for music theory classes in Moscow. Tchaikovsky was offered the position and moved to Moscow in January 1866. Rubinstein’s support was integral to Tchaikovsky’s success, particularly as a sponsor of performances and publications of his music. It is understandable, then, that Rubenstein’s harsh criticism of a draft of the First Piano Concerto almost ten years later would hurt the composer deeply. Tchaikovsky then approached the noted pianist and conductor Hans von Bülow about performing the piece. Bülow embraced it, so Tchaikovsky dedicated the work to him. Rubenstein later retracted his criticisms and the work has since become one of the most popular concertos in history, including the first musical composition to surpass one million in recording sales, thanks in part to Van Cliburn’s seminal recording. Two obvious characteristics contribute to its popularity: the orchestra as equal participant, and a virtuosic piano part filled with surprising cadenzas and extended technically-demanding passages. This “polarity” of forces embraces the Romantic ideal, pushing the power and capabilities of each to their fullest. 

The first movement’s famous introduction explodes and in short order listeners are fully immersed in the orchestra with piano accompaniment. Soon after, the piano takes over the first theme (a Ukrainian folk song) and immediately expands on it, leading to the first of many cadenzas. From that point on, the music forms a passionate and varied conversation between the orchestra and the piano. Tchaikovsky effectively combines beautiful melodies accompanied by lush harmonies and orchestral colors with a wonderful ability to build music to intuitive, satisfying climaxes. 

The second movement’s simple, engaging melody in the flute is a wonderful lyrical contrast to the power of the first movement. The lighter middle section is based on Il faut s’amuser, danser, et rire (Have fun, dance, and laugh), a favorite song of close friend Désirée Artôt. A return of the lyrical opening section brings the movement to a calm, satisfying close. The lively third movement sounds like a fast folk dance, with the piano providing flash and fireworks and the orchestra contributing a strong foundation and occasional variety, building to a triumphant unison statement of the melody, and a final rush to the finish. 

This concerto was premiered at Music Hall in Boston on October 25, 1875, with Bülow as soloist and Benjamin Johnson Lang conducting a freelance orchestra. Tchaikovsky subsequently revised the piece in 1879 and then again in 1888; the latter version is now most frequently played. Excerpts from the piece have appeared in numerous films, television shows and events, like the closing ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. 

Florence Price was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, into a mixed-race family. Her father was a dentist and her mother was a music teacher and a primary influence on Price’s early development. After initial musical training from her mother, she attended the New England Conservatory in Boston and then returned to Arkansas to teach. She moved to Chicago in 1927 for more study. Price completed the Symphony No. 1 in E minor, her first large-scale orchestral composition, in 1932. She entered the symphony in the Rodman Wanamaker Competition, and it won first place, resulting in a $500 first prize and national recognition. This led to a performance in June 1933 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Frederick Stock, the first symphony by a Black woman to be performed by a major orchestra.  

Price’s musical language mirrors the Neo-Romantic orchestral style popular in the 1920s-1940s, but also shows the influence of her cultural heritage, incorporating spiritual and dance music into classical forms. For this symphony, Price identified inspirations from Dvořák’s New World Symphony and the juba dance, a dance brought to America by enslaved Africans that involves stomping and slapping of body parts in time. Scholars also note the inclusion of musical figures reminiscent of fiddle and banjo tunes, and dance rhythms from various cultures. Wherever the inspirations came from, Price’s symphony is an original, expressive and well-constructed work that fits the context of the time in which it was composed. 

The first theme of the first movement bears a definite resemblance to Dvořák’s symphony in terms of the urgent and dramatic mood. A lyrical second theme is introduced by the woodwinds, creating a contrasting mood also reminiscent of Dvořák’s popular work. The organic, folk-like themes are gradually developed, emphasizing the lyrical mood set by the second theme. The first theme and accompanying urgency eventually return, this time more triumphantly. The movement gradually winds down with a slow statement of the first theme and a final burst of urgency to remind the listener of the initial drama. 

The second movement begins with a stately, hymn-like chorale in the brass, eventually joined by the woodwinds. A contrasting section featuring the strings follows in a similar, yet more unsettled, mood. The chorale section returns and then develops into a more full-bodied expression, featuring a lovely oboe solo that is shared by other winds. After a gradual build in intensity, the movement settles to a calm final section, highlighted by a return of the opening of the chorale, and accompanied by chimes and bells and an elaborate obligato clarinet line. A solo cello gets the final word. 

The third movement, entitled “Juba Dance,” begins subtly with syncopated rhythms. These gradually build in sound and complexity, even adding a few sound effects. The sections of the orchestra join in varying instrument combinations, contributing to the lighter, whimsical mood. The fourth movement begins intensely and breathlessly, using figures reminiscent of the first movement, but with a more dance-like rhythmic character. A lighter contrasting section follows with a variety of soloists. Next, a more dramatic version of the opening appears with added variety and sudden harmonic shifts, creating a range of light and dark effects. In the end, there is a rush to the finish with a satisfying flourish.