MEYER KUPFERMAN

The composer writes: “My Violin Concerto is scored for large orchestra and is in three movements, slow, fast, slow. The soloist stands alone in silence before each, playing cadenza-like introductions to all three. These share the same nine-tone motif, the same lyric theme and the same contemplative atmosphere. Soon, my three `spheres’ became electrified orbits of sound, spinning in all directions, dancing a wild romp before tumbling into space. Finally, I must admit to a neoclassical touch: the governing form of my concerto may be reduced to Toccata, Arioso and Perpetual Mobile – a virtuoso essay for violin and orchestra. My Foxfire Concerto is a totally athletic conception for the keyboard. The orchestral fanfare figures in the beginning offer a restless image of a warrior preparing for battle. Jazz-like rhythms and the sheer games of power between the orchestra and soloist set up a whirlpool of energy. When I began thinking about Quantum Symphony, each of its three big movements opened with a brief motif, shorter than a bar of music. My idea was that a tiny musical cell could thrust forward with no apparent end in sight, creating ever-changing units of form along the way. I decided to add a few longer, highly lyrical themes, so that there would be enough room in the continuity of each movement to play those “wicked games of living form” composers like myself enjoy most. Sonata Occulta is a special and unique combination of the chaconne and old sonata forms, as viewed through the prism of contemporary style.” 034067120128 Starkland ST 201 “DOCKSTADER, Tod