Concerto for violin and orchestra (2019)
15 minutes
Instrumentation
violin solo / 2*222* / 2200 / timp / strings
2 Flute (2nd also Piccolo), 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets in A, 1 Bassoon, 1 Contrabassoon
2 Horns in F, 2 Trumpets in C
1 Timpani player
Strings (Double Basses: most, if not all, must have low extension)
Description
The Violin Concerto, subtitled Adrano in reference to an ancient fire god who was said to have lived under Mount Etna which inspired Moussa’s work when he visited it. The Concerto consists of four movements: two principal ones – the first and the third – separated by a cadenza and concluding with an epilogue. It opens with a slow introduction in the low flutes and a pair of double basses. From this sound mass, the solo violin emerges with an ascending scale until it reaches a more melodic passage, where a new slow section begins. This material is heard twice, each time resulting in a climax; the second of these is more decisive and intense. The second movement is an accompanied cadenza featuring arpeggios of harmonics. The third movement, centred around the note B, is quick and relentless. For an epilogue we hear a variant of the concerto’s slow introduction leading to a quiet, serene ending.
— Robert Markow
Recording
Commission
Commissioned by Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
First performance
November 28, 2019
Maison symphonique
Montréal, Québec, Canada
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal / Andrew Wan, violin / Kent Nagano, conductor
Pairing suggestions
Sergei Prokofiev: Violin Concertos
Wolfgang A. Mozart: Violin Concertos
Camille Saint-Säens: Violin Concertos
Antonio Vivaldi: Violin Concertos
Antonín Dvořák: Romance in F minor
Arvo Pärt: Fratres
Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 “Italian”
Edward Elgar: Alassio
Richard Strauss: Aus Italian
Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky: Capriccio Italien
Ottorino Respighi: Fontane di Roma, Feste Romane, Pini di Roma
Aaron Copland: Appalachian Spring
Access
Available for hire.
Contact Nicolas Farmer: nicolas.farmer(a)samymoussa.com