Symphony

Charles Gounod, the 19th century French composer, wrote twelve operas, with Faust and Romeo and Juliet among his most enduring works. According to critic Diether Stepphun, Gounod’s music is “cheerfully contemplative and with gallant wit, with all the experience of human and musical maturity.” Gounod’s lasting influence on his brilliant student George Bizet is apparent in Bizet’s creation of Symphony in C, which bore a remarkably close resemblance to Gounod’s work. In 1947, George Balanchine made a piece for the Paris Opera Ballet which was set to this composition and eventually became a mainstay in the repertory of New York City Ballet. Durante Verzola takes his inspiration for SYMPHONY, his first work for the Trocks, from this ballet.

First Movement

Second Movement

Third Movement

Fourth Movement

Finale

Commissioning support for the creation of Symphony provided, in part, by The Joyce’s Stephen and Cathy Weinroth Fund for New Work. This work originated at the Trocks’ Choreography Institute in 2023 and 2024, which is made possible with leadership support from Denise Littlefield Sobel, along with additional support from The Howard Gilman Foundation, Shubert Foundation, The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, The Rallis Foundation, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, The Arison Arts Foundation, and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and an award by the National Endowment for the Arts.