Instrumentation

picc.2(II=afl).2.ca.2.bcl.2.cbsn - 4.3.2.btrbn.1 - timp - perc(2): I: medium susp.cym/3 medium concert tomtoms/glsp/BD/large tam-t/2 c.bells II: large susp.cym/3 low concert tomtoms/mar/vib/crash.cym/2 wdbl - harp - strings

Availability

Score and parts for hire

Score 0-571-57231-6 (fp) on sale

Programme Notes

Concertos for orchestra are a uniquely 20th century phenomenon, evolving from the Baroque model of the concerto grosso and the ensuing sinfonia concertante. They generally feature multiple solo instruments and alternating focus on contrasting instrumental families. More than 70 have been composed since Hindemith’s landmark work of 1925, including eight by Alan Hovhaness, and five by Robin Holloway. None have been as successful as Bartok’s remarkable work of 1943.
 
I have used this opportunity to feature every instrument in the orchestra in one way or another. Although classical concertos follow the symphonic fashion of incorporating sonata form, I chose to mutate the form beyond recognition, eliminating the precepts of primary and secondary themes, and the very notion of exposition-development-recapitulation.
 
In place of these traditional formulae I use a process developed in my piano trio (“The Village”, 2014): a broad family of musical “elements” evolve organically through a chain of episodes to create a web of melodies and harmonies that are related but not identical. This network of ideas is tied together by strong lateral bonds but remains fluid and flexible, creating a series of fleeting glimpses - what Prokofiev called visions fugitives - abstract patterns glimpsed in the half-light or imagined behind clouds.
 
Concerto for Orchestra is dedicated to Geoff Stearn.
 
Carl Vine, August 2014

Reviews

‘A remarkable score… the Concerto for Orchestra is a splendid, light-filled showpiece that gives each group of players – and some first desk principals – a moment in the spotlight, notably some powerful passages for brass and percussion. It’s an eminently approachable construct, polished in detail and built on clever, undemanding melodic cells.’

The Age (Clive O’Connell), 11 May 2018

Concerto for Orchestra

Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne (Melbourne, VIC, Australia)

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra/Sir Andrew Davis

Concerto for Orchestra

Robert Blackwood Hall, Monash University (Clayton, VIC, Australia)

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra/Sir Andrew Davis

Concerto for Orchestra

Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne (Melbourne, VIC, Australia)

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra/Sir Andrew Davis

Concerto for Orchestra

Perth Concert Hall (Perth, WA, Australia)

West Australian Symphony Orchestra/Michael Stern

Concerto for Orchestra

Perth Concert Hall (Perth, WA, Australia)

West Australian Symphony Orchestra/Michael Stern