Abstract
A symphonic movement for orchestra, commissioned by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. First performance January 2018, RLPO conducted by Vasily Petrenko.
Symphonies of Time and Tide was written for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, for performance during my 70th birthday year. The title references the old adage, in which time and tide ‘waiteth for no man’ - and, perhaps as a consequence in this context, the piece has prompted a little personal reflection. My relationship with my home town orchestra has been long and fruitful; attending my first concert at the Philharmonic Hall in the 1950s, I have worked closely with the orchestra, its ensembles and its management for some forty years. So, some of the material used in the work makes brief allusion to pieces I have written for the orchestra in the previous three decades – a few snapshots from a personal album, so to speak. The ‘tidal’ aspect of the title has also had an influence on the character of some of the music, both in shape and mood.
Symphonies of Time and Tide is a single movement work, which (despite the plural in the title) I conceived as a whole, with a somewhat traditional symphonic shape underpinning the seven sections which it comprises. The presence of a ‘slow movement’ (sections IV and V), a ‘finale’ and ‘coda’ (sections VI and VII) and a jazzier, lighter section (III) are evidence of this, and should be relatively clear to the listener. It is dedicated to the members of the orchestra, and its remarkable chief conductor, Vasily Petrenko.
Symphonies of Time and Tide was written for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, for performance during my 70th birthday year. The title references the old adage, in which time and tide ‘waiteth for no man’ - and, perhaps as a consequence in this context, the piece has prompted a little personal reflection. My relationship with my home town orchestra has been long and fruitful; attending my first concert at the Philharmonic Hall in the 1950s, I have worked closely with the orchestra, its ensembles and its management for some forty years. So, some of the material used in the work makes brief allusion to pieces I have written for the orchestra in the previous three decades – a few snapshots from a personal album, so to speak. The ‘tidal’ aspect of the title has also had an influence on the character of some of the music, both in shape and mood.
Symphonies of Time and Tide is a single movement work, which (despite the plural in the title) I conceived as a whole, with a somewhat traditional symphonic shape underpinning the seven sections which it comprises. The presence of a ‘slow movement’ (sections IV and V), a ‘finale’ and ‘coda’ (sections VI and VII) and a jazzier, lighter section (III) are evidence of this, and should be relatively clear to the listener. It is dedicated to the members of the orchestra, and its remarkable chief conductor, Vasily Petrenko.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | Oxon, England |
| Publisher | Edition HH |
| Edition | ISMN 979 0 708146 65 0 |
| Media of output | Other |
| Publication status | Published - Jan 2018 |