3.3.3.3 – 4.3.3.1 – tmp+3 – 2hp – str
I composed this piece over the course of about 6 weeks from December ’13 thru January ’14. Â I wrote it specifically for the talents and strengths of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra, which I have been privileged to conduct for several years now.
The piece is intended to be the first movement in a three-movement symphony; as such, it is written in strict sonata-allegro form.  The introduction is suffused with the general smokiness of 1940’s film noir (and the melodic sensibilities of Björk); the first theme is a romp in the manner of jazzy-Ravel and Sondheim; the effusive love theme is in the Tchaikovsky/Rachmaninoff mode.  If you look closely, the themes are all motivically related, something I’m rather proud of.
Here is an essay (which is really a little bit of a manifesto) about how this piece fits into my overall project of restoring the place of orchestral music in the wider pantheon of contemporary culture.