The first movement, Scherzophrenia, is scored for only flute and viola, since I wanted to explore the possibilities of this duo. There are some nice works written for this duo in the past; I would mention those by Malcolm Arnold and the 18th century composer Francois Devienne. And the third movement, Spaghetti Western Revisited is a kind of an tribute to Ennio Morricone's music for spaghetti western from an Indonesian admirer; let's just say that I imagine a Spaghetti Western movie being made in the savanas of Indonesia! Of course some Indonesian musical modes are (unconsciously and spontaneously) present in this movement. I am so glad to learn that after I finished it, and 2 weeks before our premiere, the Maestro won his first Academy Award with 87 years of age!
domingo, 6 de marzo de 2016
Ménage à trois
On the 18th of this month, together with my highly esteemed friends the flutist Jaime Salas and violist Jose Manuel Saiz we'll give the world premiere of my new trio, Ménage à trois. .............................................................................................................................................
This 9-minute suite is a commission from the Concurso de Musica de Camara Ecoparque of Arnuero, Cantabria, and we have the privilige of premiering it during the opening concert of the competition. I would like to provide the trio with something light, humorous and exciting rhythmically, since most of the works in this repertoire are in "serious" mood. I have written a very short piece many years ago for this formation, right after reading Walt Whitman's "A Farm Picture" which is only 3 lines long. That poem was so atmospherically powerful that the music just popped up in my head. We played it last year as an encore, and when Antonio Margallo, the organizer of the competition commissioned me a piece for this year, I told him that A Farm Picture would be incorporated in this 3-movement suite. It becomes the second, or central movement of this so-called suite. By the way, each of the movements could still be performed separately, if any trio of this formation would need an encore. ................................................ 
The first movement, Scherzophrenia, is scored for only flute and viola, since I wanted to explore the possibilities of this duo. There are some nice works written for this duo in the past; I would mention those by Malcolm Arnold and the 18th century composer Francois Devienne. And the third movement, Spaghetti Western Revisited is a kind of an tribute to Ennio Morricone's music for spaghetti western from an Indonesian admirer; let's just say that I imagine a Spaghetti Western movie being made in the savanas of Indonesia! Of course some Indonesian musical modes are (unconsciously and spontaneously) present in this movement. I am so glad to learn that after I finished it, and 2 weeks before our premiere, the Maestro won his first Academy Award with 87 years of age!
The first movement, Scherzophrenia, is scored for only flute and viola, since I wanted to explore the possibilities of this duo. There are some nice works written for this duo in the past; I would mention those by Malcolm Arnold and the 18th century composer Francois Devienne. And the third movement, Spaghetti Western Revisited is a kind of an tribute to Ennio Morricone's music for spaghetti western from an Indonesian admirer; let's just say that I imagine a Spaghetti Western movie being made in the savanas of Indonesia! Of course some Indonesian musical modes are (unconsciously and spontaneously) present in this movement. I am so glad to learn that after I finished it, and 2 weeks before our premiere, the Maestro won his first Academy Award with 87 years of age!
