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Variations
for Orchestra
In 1995
I was asked by Maestro Yehuda Gilad, Music Director
of the Colonial Symphony, to create an orchestral version
of my Variations for Piano in honor of the
45th anniversary of the orchestra the following year.
An exercise not without its problems – some of
the figures in the original piece were so idiomatically
pianistic that they nearly defied orchestration –
but one I relished.
I have
always loved the Theme and Variations structure as it
is by its very nature a musical form in praise of the
imagination. It poses an interesting challenge for a
composer, as the work progresses not by the continual
invention of new musical ideas, but rather by the re-invention
of the same idea. The Theme, poised promisingly, continually
prompts the question, “What if...?” And
the possible transformations are virtually endless.
In creating
this set of variations I chose the Classical “sectional”
structure, a design which was prominent, for example,
in the variations of Mozart, and which can be found
in works throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries,
in the latter in variations by Stravinsky, Bernstein,
and many others. In this structure, the Theme and each
Variation is a complete, relatively short piece in its
own right, performed in my variations without pause.
The Theme
in this work is a lyrical Adagio based on a single,
simple motive of four descending notes (ECBA), presented
immediately at the outset of the piece. This motive
is developed slightly over the course of the 16-measure
Theme, but is presented again, starkly and quietly,
to close the section. The subsequent variations range
from quiet to crashing, jazzy to jagged. Two of them
have specific origins: Variation II draws on the characteristic
rhythmic syncopations of jazz; Variation IV is dedicated
to Aaron Copland, and makes use of the angular, dotted
rhythms found in that composer’s own Variations
for Piano. The work closes with a chorale-style
variation which casts the theme in its most uncomplicated,
peaceful light.
The Variations
were premiered in May, 1996 in Morristown, New Jersey.
E.M.
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