New life

I've been asked to revise the Concertino arrangement, this time orchestrating as I would prefer. The last one was constrained by the composer's instructions. Although I never actually heard it, I felt that it was rather sparse and out of the comfortable range of some instruments. I should also be able to add some octave doublings and thicken the texture to make it as dark as the original piano accompaniment. The percussion is kind of superfluous, too, so I'll have to revisit it.

I'm told that the publisher will have someone read and record for the composer to approve, and then I assume there will be a performance, but I don't know when yet. (I'll have to finish the arrangement first.)


I've also decided that I may have a go at finishing my piano concerto, just because I need to finish SOMETHING of my own (that isn't literary fiction).

I've also had thoughts of arranging my sax concerto (From Her Husband's Hand) for either cello and orchestra (slightly reduced from the original) or for sax and wind ensemble. Both would work well, I think, so it is just a matter of putting the time in ... but of course, I have a huge teaching load this term.

More disappointment

I went to Copenhagen last week to a concert which I expected would include two of my Nørgard arrangements, but one was cancelled weeks ago (and nobody told me) and the other was cancelled at the last rehearsal, although I knew that it was a possibility beforehand. It seems they hadn't scheduled enough rehearsal time to put together a Danish cellist, a Polish orchestra and a British conductor.

It appears that the first piece that was cancelled is going to be played later in the year (possibly as early as August) while I haven't heard anything about when the piece that was cancelled at the last minute would be rescheduled.

I did get to visit Hindsgavl Slot (see my Facebook acct for pics) and hear some fantastic cello playing. (I'm thinking of writing a piece for him, or possibly arranging my sax concerto for cello, since the full version still hasn't been performed. We'll see. I have yet to discuss either possibility with him.)

My teaching load this year is larger, so I don't know if I'll be able to attend either of the rescheduled concerts. We'll see.

Cold Turkey

Well, I haven't written a note since the disaster. I've had some thoughts about doing some more publishing. From Her Husband's Hand is at the top of the list. All I need to do is proof, correct, and pdf it. Unfortunately, it's in a box in the attic and will have to wait until we move again in June. I'm still looking for a premiere of the orchestral version.

I'm also thinking of publishing Inner Sanctum. I set it in Finale, so it doesn't look as good as the ones in Score, but I don't want to spend any time on it. It looks fairly good and is ready to go. I just need to have a quick peek at the parts. The reduction of A Point of Amber Light is nearly there, too, but I may transfer it to Sibelius, as it is in an old version of Finale.

I'm also considering transferring Oyre's Garden into Sibelius and publishing that. It's my most performed piece, so it is probably worth getting it out there.

Stimmen is actually ready - I just need to make pdfs - and being a chamber work (fl, pf), is probably the most performable at this point in time. I've never heard the revised version, and although it was scheduled for two performances, I don't know if they ever happened.

Crash: Burn

A week or so ago, I sent out a pdf of what I had (ca 70%) of the concerto to the conductor, so he could get an early start on the piece.

Today, I got some disappointing news back: the conductor loved it, but ...

... the orchestra cancelled the performance. Because:

1)  There was a section that was too hard. (It is still early enough to simplify.) 

2)  The string parts were too difficult. (Really? Anyway, ditto.)

3)  The committee felt that the piece wasn't something the Scarborough public would enjoy. (Dammit, they had recordings of my music. They knew what to expect!)

Yes, that was the bottom line. They'd been talked into programming the piece, not really wanting to play something "new." What did they want? Philip Glass? I've got news for you folks; his music is hard - I mean really hard - to play. It's not like I'm Uncle Milty (Babbitt).

I've offered them another piece, but it has already been played several times, and I'm not going to spend £1000 just to go hear an ordinary (at best) performance. I probably won't even receive any performance rights for it. (I didn't the last time it was played in St John's Smith Square, a major concert venue.) The Spa in Scarborough just doesn't rate that high. I doubt they will go for it anyway.

What now?

In the short term, I'm too busy to work on it. Will I finish it? I don't know right now. If anyone is interested, I will, of course.

What will happen to this blog? I don't know. I suppose I'll keep it for my composing thoughts (if I ever compose again).

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Tentative thoughts

I need to get my Cantica arrangement done soon. I've had too many interruptions - mid-term exams, and other work. I have a set of parts to do before Wednesday, but then I'm going to knuckle down and do it, hopefully by the end of March.

I finally had some constructive thoughts about the concerto. I've been laying what I had down in Sibelius, just to do something productive, but I had some ideas while I was in the shower this morning. I haven't been happy with the beginnings of the piano interlude after the opening 3' section of the piece. It seemed too square. I need to loosen up the melody and make the accompaniment more like a murmur. That way it will flow better into the improvisatory section that follows and the subsequent aleatory music with - wait for it - a trombone solo.

I've also decided that the piece begins too abruptly. My original concerto sketches included a slow introduction, so I'm going to reinstate it, but within the new harmonic scheme.

Finally, the ending. The Parsifal-like theme needs to return, and I'm opting for a repetitive arpeggio accompaniment, sort of like Bruckner's Te Deum upside-down, but of course, using my harmonies. The orchestra will need something easy after the section they just played, so the ending doesn't end up a train-wreck.

Okay, now back to the arrangement.

Back to the grindstone

The paste-up arrangement is done now. I've spent the last couple of days arranging the third movement of Chaos for piano and orchestra. They aren't really defined movements because they are so short and the material from the first movement is transposed to the set of the last movement as a coda. It's all played straight through.

I had some Sibelius issues, partly related to transferring it from Finale, that I've finally fixed them (I think), so the next job is to set the middle movement and make the piano more prominent.

Rather than being a soloist, the piano is more like the engine of the structure. There are places where it dominates, but it rarely is completely independent. I'm hoping to rectify that in the middle movement and the closing section. At the end of the first "movement", there is a lyrical section with the piano alone, to be followed by an improvisation section where the piano improvises on given chords over an aleatoric tableaux. The aleatory continues as the second movement proper begins, but the piano is joined by the first trombone as a co-soloist, sort of like Nielsen's flute concerto. I still have to re-score that for orchestra, but I'll also be adding more piano music.

Hooky is just a game

Last night I straightened up my office. On my work table, I laid my Chaos sketches in the anticipation that I might work on them. Maybe today, but things will get dicey again in a couple of days. I have another rush reorchestration coming, and that's a paste-up job for performances in March.

Is that another arrangement? I guess it is. I also learned that Bach to the Future will be premiered March 27 and repeated in the July concerts. I've also started the other arrangement for those concerts.