Low Brass Concerto

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The Low Brass Concerto is a concerto for four solo low brass instruments and orchestra by the American composer Jennifer Higdon. The work was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for their renowned low brass section and co-commissioned by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra. It was composed in 2017 and was first performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Riccardo Muti on February 1, 2018. [1]

Concerto musical composition usually in three parts

A concerto is a musical composition generally composed of three movements, in which, usually, one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra or concert band. It is accepted that its characteristics and definition have changed over time. In the 17th century, sacred works for voices and orchestra were typically called concertos, as reflected by J. S. Bach's usage of the title "concerto" for many of the works that we know as cantatas.

Brass instrument class of musical instruments

A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. Brass instruments are also called labrosones, literally meaning "lip-vibrated instruments".

Orchestra large instrumental ensemble

An orchestra is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families, including bowed string instruments such as the violin, viola, cello, and double bass, brass instruments such as the horn, trumpet, trombone and tuba, woodwinds such as the flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon, and percussion instruments such as the timpani, bass drum, triangle, snare drum and cymbals, each grouped in sections. Other instruments such as the piano and celesta may sometimes appear in a fifth keyboard section or may stand alone, as may the concert harp and, for performances of some modern compositions, electronic instruments.

Contents

Composition

The Low Brass Concerto is cast in one continuous movement in alternating slow and fast sections. It has a performance duration of approximately 17 minutes. [2]

A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession. A movement is a section, "a major structural unit perceived as the result of the coincidence of relatively large numbers of structural phenomena".

A unit of a larger work that may stand by itself as a complete composition. Such divisions are usually self-contained. Most often the sequence of movements is arranged fast-slow-fast or in some other order that provides contrast.

Instrumentation

The low brass soloists consist of two tenor trombones, bass trombone, and tuba. They are accompanied by a large orchestra consisting of two flutes, two oboes, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, timpani, percussion, and strings. [2]

Trombone Type of brass instrument

The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. As on all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips (embouchure) cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate. Nearly all trombones have a telescoping slide mechanism that varies the length of the instrument to change the pitch. Many modern trombone models also use a valve attachment to lower the pitch of the instrument. Variants such as the valve trombone and superbone have three valves similar to those on the trumpet.

Tuba type of musical instrument of the brass family

The tuba (bass) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibration into a large mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the newer instruments in the modern orchestra and concert band. The tuba largely replaced the ophicleide. Tuba is Latin for 'trumpet'.

Western concert flute transverse woodwind instrument made of metal or wood

The Western concert flute is a transverse (side-blown) woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist, flutist, flute player, or (rarely) fluter.

Reception

Reviewing the world premiere, John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune wrote, "The new work harnesses the signature strength of [the CSO's low brass section] in imaginative ways that allow them to function as a unit, duo, trio and individual voices, before her 17-minute, single-movement concerto charges to a rousing close." He added, "This is a big-shouldered Chicago brass blowout if there ever was one — beautiful, accessible, inventive, impeccably crafted — drawing not so much on its muscular might as on its ability, less often recognized, to play softly and lyrically." [3] Hedy Weiss of the Chicago Sun-Times similarly described the concerto as a "wonderfully accessible, richly melodic new work — one propelled by exhilarating rhythms, vibrant orchestral color, and an ingenious use of strings, woodwinds and percussion." [4]

<i>Chicago Tribune</i> major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States

The Chicago Tribune is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", it remains the most-read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region. It is the eighth-largest newspaper in the United States by circulation.

<i>Chicago Sun-Times</i> newspaper

The Chicago Sun-Times is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group, with the 2nd biggest circulation in Chicago.

Despite lauding the concerto, Lawrence A. Johnson of the Chicago Classical Review was more critical of the piece, noting, "It's probably a good thing that the concerto feels too short rather than too long. If there is a complaint, it's that one wishes there were more standout solo opportunities for each of the four players." He added, "Granted, in a work this short there's not a whole lot of space for four players to chart their own varied paths. (The premiere performance ran 20 minutes, slightly longer than the 15 to 17 minutes indicated in the score.) Perhaps some revision and judicious expansion to Higdon's likable concerto might allow each of the four soloists to stand out a bit more and differentiate their instruments more than is currently the case." [5] This criticism was shared by David Patrick Stearns of The Philadelphia Inquirer , who remarked, "So the concerto isn't exactly written for four players, but for four players acting more or less as a single entity. Mostly. Individual instruments occasionally pop out in solos or duets. Thus, the foursome has many of the lyrical and dramatic possibilities of any concerto soloist, though not the agility that one associates with, say, a violinist who leaps into the ozone during the cadenza." [6]

<i>The Philadelphia Inquirer</i> daily newspaper

The Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the United States. Owned by Philadelphia Media Network, a subsidiary of The Philadelphia Foundation's nonprofit Institute for Journalism in New Media, The Inquirer has the eighteenth largest average weekday U.S. newspaper circulation and has won twenty Pulitzer Prizes. It is the newspaper of record in the Delaware Valley.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Fleshler, David (January 31, 2018). "CSO's low brass rise to top billing with Higdon concerto premiere". Chicago Classical Review. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  2. 1 2 Higdon: Low Brass Concerto. Chicago Symphony Orchestra. February 6, 2018.
  3. ↑ von Rhein, John (February 2, 2018). "Review: Muti, soloists premiere a big-shouldered crowd pleaser with Higdon's Low Brass Concerto". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  4. ↑ Weiss, Hedy (February 2, 2018). "Jennifer Higdon's 'Concerto' sounds the low brass and high beauty of the CSO". Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  5. ↑ Johnson, Lawrence A. (February 2, 2018). "CSO brass, mezzo in the spotlight with world premiere, French rarity". Chicago Classical Review. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  6. ↑ Stearns, David Patrick (February 2, 2018). "Philly Grammy winner Jennifer Higdon delights Chicago with a new world premiere, coming here soon". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Retrieved February 6, 2018.
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