Timestamps:
0:00- Opening Credits
0:29- Scene 1: 7’59am, “In the Square”
5:34- Scene 2: “8’46am: The North Tower”
10:06- Scene 3: 9’03am, “The South Tower”
11:29- Scene 4: 10’00am, “Collapse of the Towers”
12:31- Scene 5: “Devastating Aftermath”
15:58- Scene 6: “End Credits”
FOR COPYRIGHT PURPOSES:
Featured tunes include:
– 20th Century Fox Inro Theme
– Rendition of 100 years of Disney Intro theme
– “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” ballad by Harold Arlen
– Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York”, arranged by Music by Ken (MuseScore Pro)
*I apologize if the volume is not loud enough in some of the softer areas. Headphones or a nice speaker should do the trick… I’d definitely suggest listening with the synopsis described underneath as a reference. *
Synopsis:
-Opening Credits: Using the 20th Century Fox Intro, this movement is presented like a movie or documentary for this event.
-Scene 1: 7’59am, “In the Square”: In New York, it’s a normal day in Time Square.
-Scene 2: “8’46am: The North Tower”: The first plane strikes the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
-Scene 3: 9’03am, “The South Tower”: The second plane strikes the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
-Scene 4: 10’00am, “Collapse of the Towers”: The towers collapse filling the air with dust and debris. (Though during the actual day, the towers fell one at time with a long duration between the two…but for time’s sake and for the illustration the point was made with the one depiction.)
-Scene 5: “Devastating Aftermath”: The devastated voices amidst the chaos echo throughout the streets.
-Scene 6: “End Credits”: The movie ends.
For this movement specifically I knew I needed to find a way for the score to be seen. I hope it’s appreciated. One day this may be the work that opens people’s eyes…
This movement is a dynamic one. As mentioned with the first movement, Dmitri Shostakovich is my inspiration for this symphony. He was a master at illustrating and documenting events of war and political tension during his time.
With that in mind, this movement brings to life the tragic events that occurred in New York on September 11, 2001. I was going on six years old at the time, and like many folks who tuned after the first tower was struck, America watched as the second tower was hit then eventually watching them crumble to the ground filling the air with smoke and chaos.
This a brief musical description of that time.
Further explanation:
I wanted this movement to stand out in a significant way. One thing that Shostakovich taught me was to boldly speak out against the corrupt ways of the political world. He had this mutable knack for sarcastic banter mixed with bitter truth.
Many questions can be asked about this movement… why the movie opening? What’s the point of the Disney-like theme? What’s being said? What’s NOT being said? Why such a sarcastic/happy ending to a dark tale?
In America there’s always talk of corruption and conspiracies about events and the telling of our history, nothing new to any country I’m sure, but all I have is my perspective from my country. Should this work be performed live, I hope this second movement makes people think and wonder, as they should, about the true meanings behind the music.
This is the article I used for the timestamps listed above the score for each section: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_for_the_day_of_the_September_11_attacks
Title explanation: “The Silver State Reporter”. This has a double meaning. One, I’m raised here in Las Vegas, NV where Nevada is known as the “Silver State”. Also, the acronym “SSR” stands for the Social Soviets Republics the reign that ruled over Russia during Shostakovich’s time, as he used his music to report times of woe in his homeland. ‘The Prodigy’ is more of a recognition to what he was at that time. He really pushed music into the Silver Age era, just Mozart did during the classical era, Beethoven for the Romantic, Tchaikovsky during the Post-Romantic, and Mahler during the Golden Age proceeding.
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