F. Murray Abraham is a great admirer of Abraham Lincoln. This weekend, he’ll give Lincoln a voice at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Performs Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait with F. Murry Abraham

As part of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s program this weekend, the Oscar-winning actor will provide narration for Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, a musical ode to the Great Emancipator that features portions of the president’s speeches and writings.

“I really love Lincoln. It’s almost a silly thing to say,” Abraham says, “because I think most people do have a special place in their hearts for him. A remarkable man. Not only a politician, but also his wide reading, his humanity.”

The brass-forward Lincoln Portrait was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic in 1942; Copland was asked to pick an “eminent American,” and chose Lincoln. The undeniable grandeur of the piece, Abraham says, contains identifiably American themes — even before the narration begins.

“That’s the trick, isn’t it? These people who create this abstract thing called music that is beyond description — because it’s beyond language … It’s magic. But where it comes from is a real mystery. [Copland] tapped into that.”

Lincoln’s Words Brought to Life

Most of the narration in Lincoln Portrait is direct quotation, though it is framed by simple narration. One phrase, “This is what he said,” is repeated throughout the piece.

“It brings us back to the immediacy of the words,” Abraham says. “It’s not something that Copland invented; this is what he said. This is what the man said. It’s not speculation, it’s not paraphrasing; these are his words.”

The program for Lincoln Portrait also contains works by Leonard Bernstein — a protege of Copland, and another composer with distinctly American themes — and John Adams, as well as an original PSO commission by Joan Tower. The show is part of the Symphony’s programming tied to the 250th anniversary of the United States’ founding; it’s an occasion, Abraham says, to remember the unity required by democracy.

“At that moment in American history, when [Lincoln] talked about equal treatment for all — Confederate states as well as the North. That kind of mentality is so absent today. We need that so much. We have to understand — it’s called the United States of America, not the Disunited States of America.”

Lincoln Portrait, which also features baritone Matthias Goerne and performances from the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

Story by Sean Collier
Photo by Julie Goetz, Courtesy of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

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