of light and stone — symphony orchestra 2 2[1.2/Eh] 2 2, 4231, tmp+1 [tri, sd, bd], str (2025)
Commissioned by the New York Philharmonic with the generous support of Elizabeth & Justus Schlichting, duration 15’
A NOTE ON THE PREMIERE
This piece was written as a season opener on the occasion of Gustavo Dudamel’s first concert as the Music & Artistic Director Designate of the New York Philharmonic. The concert features works by composers Bela Bartók and Charles Ives, known for their modern compositional style with influences of home.
Home for Ives included growing up in Danbury, Connecticut with his father, George Ives. A Civil War bandmaster, George famously used to experiment with having bands play different songs in different keys while marching past each other. Meanwhile, Bartók’s work as a pioneer in the field of ethnomusicology strengthened his connection to place and community. Home for Bartók was strongly and resoundingly in Hungarian folk music, incorporating these influences into his compositional work as well as documenting and uplifting the folk songs themselves.
Home for me—as I write this, and throughout my life in my heart—is Hawaiʻi. So this new work, of light and stone, will like me be born in the diaspora but connected to home: an experiment of melodies passing each other in the night, a resounding documentation of love and admiration for the lāhui.
PROGRAM NOTES
of light and stone draws inspiration from the lives and compositions of Nā Lani ʻEha, or “the heavenly four”: King Kalākaua (1836–1891), Queen Liliʻuokalani (1838–1917), Princess Likelike (1851–1887), and Prince Leleiōhoku (1855–1877). The four siblings of the Kalākaua dynasty were all composers and contributed extensively to both preserving cultural traditions and encouraging innovation. In their music, this manifested in combining western hymn styles with traditional Hawaiian poetry and chant.
I. to compose
The first movement evokes the grandeur of ʻIolani Palace. Built in 1882 by King Kalākaua, it represented the modernity and strength of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi as an equal partner on the international stage.
Kalākaua is often referred to as the “Merrie Monarch”—known for both celebrating and reviving Hawaiian traditional dance and cultural practices, as well as for a strong interest in technology and modern advancements. After meeting Thomas Edison in New York during his diplomatic travels abroad, Kalākaua installed electric lights on the ʻIolani Palace grounds for his 50th birthday party in 1886. By the following year, the Palace had 325 incandescent lights—outfitting ʻIolani Palace with electricity four years before The White House.
The brass chords throughout frame the architecture of the palace, sourcing their harmonic material from the opening chords of “Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī.” Written in 1874 with words by King Kalākaua and music by Royal Hawaiian Band conductor Henri Berger (1844–1929), “Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī” became the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi’s National Anthem in 1876, and continues to be used in present day. Shimmering below, the strings light up the stage with harmonics.
II. core, as in stone
The second movement opens with foreboding sounds of loss: a ship’s bell signaling the death of Kalākaua, the lonely echoes of a young Prince Leleiōhoku (referencing his song “Moani Ke Ala” in the muted strings). Leleiōhoku died at only 22 years old—his birth name, Kalāhoʻolewa means “the day of the funeral.”
In the clarinet solo we hear Liliʻuokalani’s “Ahe Lau Makani”—holding dear to a song she wrote while all four siblings were still alive. Underneath, an English Horn line emerges, in this context perhaps heard as a kanikau (chant of mourning), filled with the sadness of not being able to welcome one’s siblings home again.
III. to rise up, as the moon
Taking the place of a traditional scherzo, instead, the third movement is a dance of wind, calling forth the melody of one of Likelike’s few compositions, “Kuʻu ipo i ka heʻe puʻe one.” Speaking of a loving encounter in the forest, surrounded by wind, the memory of the melody is passed around the winds in fragments.
IV. to braid, as a lei
The final movement centers most of its material around Queen Liliʻuokalani’s “Ke Aloha O Ka Haku.” Initially heard in the harmonics of the first movement under the fanfare, we now hear the strings braid the sound in bright, warm colors.
In “Ke Aloha O Ka Haku,” the word “haku” has many potential interpretations. Given that diacriticals were not standard use at the time, there are even more possibilities. “Haku” has always been interpreted as “Lord” inferring that the work is a religious song, however a purely religious reading misses the gorgeous nuance of Liliʻuokalani’s lyrics and the importance of kaona (hidden meanings) in her writing.
haku (to compose)
haku (to braid, as a lei)
haku (core, as in pōhaku, stone, or haku ipu, pulp and seeds of melon)
hakū (to rise up, as the moon)
e kuʻu haku (my chief)
With these kaona, “Ke Aloha O Ka Haku” opens up into new layers of meaning:
The love of composing
The love of bringing together [flowers / the children of Hawaiʻi]
The love of the core [“the one refrain of my heart…the people”]
The love of rising up, as the moon [“You are my light / Your glory, my support”]
The love of [the people for] the chief
The movement ends with a quiet meditation on a harmonic shift in Liliʻuokalani’s “Mele Lāhui Hawaiʻi” —the National Anthem of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi before Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī replaced it. In her song, Liliʻuokalani adjusts the Hawaiian national motto slightly, “e mau ke ʻea o ka ʻāina, o kou pono mau / mana nui,” or “the life of the land is perpetuated in your excellence / great energy.”
Perhaps Liliʻuokalani is not just referencing those in leadership, but “you” who sing this, you who hear this, you in the community who carry your culture—your home—forward.
— Leilehua Lanzilotti, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, 2025 May 8
An excerpt from an article previously published in Forging Magazine is included in this program note
Upcoming Performances
September 11, 12, 13, and 16, 2025 — of light and stone, World Premiere, Gustavo Dudamel and the New York Philharmonic, David Geffen Hall in Lincoln Center, New York, NY