THE STORY BEHIND: Frank's "Apu: Tone Poem for Orchestra"

The Story:

Gabriela Lena Frank was born in Berkeley, California. Her mother was Peruvian/Chinese, and her father was of Lithuanian-Jewish heritage. Frank is a pianist-composer with a higher education from Rice University (masters) and the University of Michigan (doctorate).

Frank’s wide-ranging heritage has prompted her to passionately learn about non-Western music and instruments, and then seek the means to amalgamate them with Western musical traditions in newer directions. For example, she might elicit the sounds of Peruvian pan pipes or charango (small Andean guitar) by composing for them in special ways for orchestral instruments of European origin. Humorously, she has said, “I think the music can be seen as a by-product of my always trying to figure out how Latina I am and how gringa I am.”
       
 A major interest of Frank’s career is the conservatory she founded in the wine country of Northern California: The Gabriela Frank Creative Academy of Music. Focusing on performance, the Academy offers music education both in person and online. Amid her expectedly rich schedule of fulfilling commissions, receiving awards, etc., one of Frank’s most treasured honors was her inclusion in The Washington Post’s 2017 list of the 35 most significant women composers in history.

About Apu, Frank has written:

"In Andean Peru, spirits are said to inhabit rocks, rivers, and mountain peaks with the intent of keeping a watchful eye on travelers passing through highland roads. The apu is one of the more well-known spirits that is sometimes portrayed as a minor deity with a mischievous side who is rarely seen. Simple folk song and a solemn prayer often successfully placate the apu to ensure safe passage through the mountains.
                 

Apu: Tone Poem for Orchestra begins with a short folkloric song inspired by the agile "pinkillo" flute, a small slender instrument that packs well into the small bags of travelers who must travel light. It is followed by the extended "haillí" of the second movement, a prayer to the apu, which flows attacca to the third movement in which the apu makes its brief but brilliant and dazzling appearance before disappearing once again into the mountain peaks."