| Instrumentation |
Piano, Flute, Flute piccolo, Clarinet, Bassoon, Oboe, Cor anglais, Euphonium, Horn, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba, Double bass, Snare drum, Glockenspiel, Marimba, Timpani, Vibraphone, Xylophone, Cymbals, Tam-tam, Contrabassoon, Bass drum, Bass Clarinet, Mark tree |
| Description |
The main concept of this piece is the splitting of the wind ensemble into essentially two autonomous wind ensembles, one on the far left of the performance area and the other on the far right. The middle section is considered to be a non-autonomous ensemble and is “neutral” to the stereo effect that is created by ensemble A and ensemble B.
The way the stereo effect is written into the parts is generally by beginning a phrase or idea in one ensemble and ending it in another. This effect is produced smoothly by elision. Other ways that this effect is used is a suspension in one ensemble with
the resolution in the other and or with both ensembles in opposing key areas a half-step apart. The effect of opposing keys is also heard in tone clusters, especially in the piano where the pianist plays as many keys as they can with their forearms.
The symphony is mainly based around two melodic motives, both introduced in the first movement and combined in the piano solo at the end. The first motive is introduced in the woodwinds after the slow introduction in the piano and spins off into imitation, first in one key, then in two keys a minor second apart later on in the fast part of the movement. The second motive appears in the second slow part of the first movement, later at the climax of the second movement, and finally returns in the third movement as a unison across the entire band. |