Michael Morgan conducts David Conte's Sinfonietta for 11 Instruments

Sinfonietta for 11 Instruments
SFCM Faculty Artist Series Recital; November 1st, 2015
Hume Concert Hall
E. C. Schirmer Music Company, # 8760
Composer’s opening remarks: :00
I. Overture 3:45
II. Elegy 8:20
III. Finale 15:05
Flute - Timothy Day
Oboe - James Moore
Clarinet - José Granero
Bassoon - Stephen Paulson
Horn - Jonathan Ring
Trumpet - Scott Macomber
Violins - Kay Stern; Bettina Mussemeli
Viola - Jodi Levitz
Cello - Emil Miland
Bass - Stephen Tramontozzi
Conductor - Michael Morgan
Program Note
Sinfonietta for Eleven Instruments is a transcription of my Sinfonietta which was commissioned by the Atlantic Classical Orchestra, Stewart Robertson, conductor, in 2012. This version was created especially for my 60th birthday concert and was premiered on November 1st, 2015, at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, conducted by Michael Morgan.
As a composer I have specialized in vocal music, choral music and opera, but in recent yearsI have been turning my attention to instrumental music. Since 2009 I have composed a string quartet, a piano trio, a sextet for clarinet, string quartet, and piano, and a suite for organ and brass quintet. Long study of the works of the composers I most admire has taught me that instrumental music is informed by a vocal impulse. Thus, I have striven to imbue this work with both dramatic and lyrical melodies.
A sinfonietta is a work with the character of a symphony of less than standard length and often for smaller forces. Whereas many concertgoers nowadays think of symphonies as having the proportions and scope of those by composers like Tchaikovsky, Mahler, and Shostakovich, my Sinfonietta resembles more in spirit works like Prokofiev's Classical Symphony, Stravinsky's Symphony in C, or Copland's Short Symphony. Composed between June and October of 2012, the original version of the Sinfonietta is scored for a standard classical orchestra of woodwinds in pairs, four horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings. I have reduced the piece here for 5 woodwinds, trumpet, and string quintet. The work lasts fourteen minutes and is cast in three movements played without pause.
The first movement, Overture, is a spirited sonata-allegro, quite classical in form and mood, with dotted rhythms reminiscent of a French overture and containing animated running-sixteenth notes. The accumulation of rhythmic energy in this movement suddenly comes to a halt, as solos in the oboes, clarinets, and bassoon form a transition which leads to the second movement, Elegy. This movement is characterized by a quiet intensity, with a "sighing" motive in the strings, answered by more florid passages in the solo woodwinds. These two ideas are gradually and subtly developed and transformed while moving through many tonalities and arriving at several climaxes. The movement ends with rising woodwind solos. The third movement, Finale, begins with animated figuration arising from the low register of the ensemble, culminating in the announcement of a jaunty, syncopated theme proclaimed by all players. The development of this theme leads to an animated climax that subsides into a second lyrical theme, which is broadly sung by the solo violin. More development follows, succeeded by a long transition built on a steady ostinato. At this point all of the various themes heard throughout the movement are combined in counterpoint, building to an energetic coda.
-David Conte

[@JoseGGranero]

This piece is just amazing! bravo David!