Seven Solos for Orchestra

Last updated

Seven Solos for Orchestra is an orchestral cycle written by the French composer Pascal Dusapin between 1992 and 2009. As the title suggests, it consists of seven pieces that can be played independently, although they were from the start conceived as a whole. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Some of these pieces have been championed by major conductors and orchestras like Simon Rattle (with the Berlin Philharmonic), Mstislav Rostropovich (with the Juilliard School Orchestra), and Myung-whun Chung (with the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France). [3] [4] [5] Pascal Rophé has recorded the whole cycle with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège.

Origin

Seven Solos for Orchestra stems from Dusapin's ambition to write a large-scale piece at a time when he lacked a commission to realize it. His solution was to write seven independent but interrelated works over a period of 17 years, [1] [4] [6] a process that calls to mind Wolfgang Rihm's Jagden und Formen. [7]

In Dusapin's own words:

In the early 1990s I wanted to get away from the running times of between ten and twenty minutes that are invariably associated with commissions for orchestra. Since no one was offering me commissions to produce longer symphonic forms I decided to bide my time. I dreamt of an extended, complex form comprising seven autonomous episodes regenerating themselves from within, fertilising other possibilities, and proliferating on the interstices left open … [1]

Structure

Overview

The first solo, Go, is predominantly violent and furious although it contains some quieter moments. It is built on various tetratonic scales, a characteristic that reappears throughout the whole cycle. [1] [4]

Extenso, which follows, is quieter and "ex-tends" some of the music used in Go. In turn, the material presented in Extenso will serve as the seed for several subsequent solos. It has been described as having a Mahlerian quality. [1] [4] [7]

Apex is slower, darker and mostly harmonic. According to the composer, “The form advances by means of contractions and spasms” in this solo. Like Extenso, it ends quietly. [1] [6]

Next comes Clam, in which the music becomes almost static, with the focus now on wave-like shifts between various instrumental combinations. [1] [4]

After these two relatively slow solos, Exeo (Latin for "I go out") is characterized by the sharp contrasts created by the dramatic clash of the high and low registers of the orchestra. [1] [6]

Reverso is the longest of the seven pieces. It as built as a gradual crescendo that ends in a tumultuous climax. It is the only solo in the cycle that comprises different sections. Reverso features a prominent part for the harp and, like Extenso, rich string melodies. [1] [2] [4]

The last piece, Uncut, sums up the whole cycle. It starts with a horn fanfare and then proceeds and expands steadily until a sudden end. [1] [5]

Discography

Related Research Articles

Pascal Dusapin French composer

Pascal Georges Dusapin is a French composer. His music is marked by its microtonality, tension, and energy.

Violin Concerto No. 3 (Saint-Saëns)

The Violin Concerto No. 3 in B minor, Op. 61, by Camille Saint-Saëns is a piece for violin and orchestra written in March 1880. Saint-Saëns dedicated the concerto to fellow composer-virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate, who performed the solo part at the premiere in October 1880 in Hamburg.

Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) is one of the prominent orchestras in South Korea which is based in Seoul. Founded in 1948, it is one of the oldest orchestras in South Korea. Its first foreign tour came on a 1965 trip to Japan, followed by performances in Southeast Asia in 1977, the United States in 1982, 1986, and 1996, a 1988 tour of Europe before the Seoul Olympics that year, and a 1997 performance in Beijing. The Philharmonic is an incorporated foundation since 2005.

Myung-whun Chung is a South Korean conductor and pianist.

Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France

The Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France is a French radio orchestra, affiliated with Radio France. The orchestra performs principally at the auditorium of the Maison de la Radio in Paris, along with several concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris.

The Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège (OPRL) is a Belgian symphony orchestra, based in Liège. The primary concert venue and administrative base of the OPRL is the Salle Philharmonique de Liège. The OPRL receives financial support from the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, the City of Liège, the Province of Liège, the Région wallonne, and the Loterie Nationale.

Pascal Pons, born on 9 November 1968 in Nice, is a French percussionist.

Orchestre national des Pays de la Loire French symphony orchestra

The Orchestre national des Pays de la Loire (ONPL) is a French symphony orchestra based in Angers and Nantes. The orchestra receives support from the Regional Council of the Pays de la Loire, the French Ministry of Culture, the municipalities of Nantes and of Angers, and the General Councils of Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire, and La Vendée.

<i>Carmen: Duets & Arias</i> 2010 studio album by Andrea Bocelli

Carmen: Duets & Arias is an album released in 2010 by Italian tenor, Andrea Bocelli. The album is a collection of arias of Georges Bizet's opera Carmen, including duets with Welsh bass-baritone, Bryn Terfel, Russian mezzo-soprano Marina Domashenko, and Italian soprano Eva Mei, from the French opéra comique.

The Victoires de la musique classique are an annual French classical music award event founded in 1986. The awards are the classical equivalent of the popular music awards Victoires de la Musique and the Victoires du Jazz. Most of the awards are for actual performers, orchestras, composers, etc. as opposed to the Diapason d'Or given to recordings, though there is an Enregistrement français de musique classique de l'année.

Renaud Capuçon French violinist

Renaud Capuçon is a French classical violinist. Since late 2016 he has been teaching at the Royal Northern College of Music.

<i>Tout un monde lointain...</i>

Tout un monde lointain... is a concertante work for cello and orchestra composed by Henri Dutilleux between 1967 and 1970 for Mstislav Rostropovich. It is considered one of the most important 20th-century additions to the cello repertoire and several major cellists have recorded it. Despite the fact that the score does not state that it is a cello concerto, Tout un monde lointain... has always been considered as such.

L'arbre des songes is a violin concerto written by Henri Dutilleux between 1983 and 1985. It is dedicated to Isaac Stern.

Alexander Gurning is a Belgian pianist, composer and improviser.

Daishin Kashimoto Japanese violinist (born 1979)

Daishin Kashimoto is a Japanese classical violinist. Since 2009, he has been the first concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic.

Jonathan Stockhammer is an American conductor based in Germany.

Pascal Rophé is a French conductor. He is currently music director of the Orchestre national des Pays de la Loire.

Aufgang (Ascent) is a violin concerto written by the French composer Pascal Dusapin for Renaud Capuçon between 2008 and 2011. The violinist premièred it in 2013 in Cologne. He subsequently performed it in Seattle, London and in Switzerland, before recording it with Myung-whun Chung conducting the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in 2015.

Jean-François Heisser is a French classical pianist.

Sonia Wieder-Atherton

Sonia Wieder-Atherton is a Franco-American classical cellist.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Musicweb-International Review, Hubert Culot
  2. 1 2 Grammophone CD Review, Arnold Whittall
  3. 1 2 "Pascal Dusapin: Reverso (2005–2006) Solo No. 6 for Orchestra" (in French and English). IRCAM.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Riding Herd on the Wild Orchestra", The New York Times CD Review, Steve Smith, May 13, 2010
  5. 1 2 Reverso, Uncut, Morning in Long Island CD Review, Grammophone, Richard Whitehouse
  6. 1 2 3 Dusapin: Seven Solos for Orchestra, The Guardian, Andrew Clements, April 15, 2010
  7. 1 2 Découvrir la Musique Contemporaine, Thierry Vagne, November 1, 2013 (in French)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.