1 score (46 leaves) ; 43 cm.
Duration: ca. 15:00.
Includes program and performance notes.
Accompanied by: Cycle of cycles : ordering principles suggested by George Perle’s twelve-tone tonality / by Christopher Clay Winders (x, 45 leaves : music).
Concerto grosso (2008) by Christopher Winders lies in the concerto tradition in that it places a soloist in juxtaposition to the orchestra, however in this case the soloist consists of a string quartet. There are several precedents for this arrangement in the 20th C. repertoire, notably works by Morton Feldman, Mario Davidovsky and Arnold Schoenberg. The work is divided into two large sections of contrasting tempo and texture. The music opens with an agitated phrase in the first violin of the quartet which expands as the other members join culminating in the entrance of the full orchestra. The processes of contraction and expansion of musical phrases at differing speeds dominates the rest of the first large section. The piece also includes a cadenza-like passage near the center of the section allowing the players to exhibit virtuosic playing often found in the traditional concerto.
The second division of the concerto is marked by a forceful pedal point in the low brass and strings with timpani. The quartet continues to interact with the orchestra, however in this section the interaction is less antagonistic than participatory. The music consists of many strands gradually layered upon one another. Toward the end of the work the orchestra drops out for a brief cadenza-like passage. The orchestra then returns initiating a pause and a coda which brings back music from the first portion of the piece.
