Concerto for seven wind instruments, timpani, percussion, and string orchestra
Concerto for seven wind instruments, timpani, percussion, and string orchestra (published as Concerto pour sept instruments à vent, timbales, batterie et orchestre à cordes) is a composition by the Swiss composer Frank Martin.
Composed in 1949 for the Bern Musikgesellschaft, the first movement, Allegro, opens with the string players only, with the percussion only gradually coming to the forefront. The haunting second movement Adagietto is marked "mysterious and elegant", and is hallmarked by an ostinato figure on the strings, initially pizzicato before being taken up by the ensemble. Martin himself characterised the slow movement as being:
based entirely on a steady two-time beat, which serves as an accompaniment to the melodic elements: sometimes serene, sometimes dark and violent. A lyrical phrase first heard in the bassoon's upper register is repeated by the trombone with a gentle nobility at the conclusion.[1]
The conductor
The Concerto, along with his
Recordings
- Winterthur Symphony Orchestra, Victor Desarzens, Nixa Records
- Suisse Romande Orchestra, Ernest Ansermet, Decca
- Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Jean Martinon, RCA Records
- West Flemish Orchestra, Dirk Varendonck, Harmonia Mundi
- Orfeo Records
- Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Thierry Fischer, Deutsche Grammophon
- Suisse Romande Orchestra, Armin Jordan, Erato Records
- London Philharmonic, Matthias Bamert, Chandos Records
- Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly, Decca
- National Orchestral Association, John Barnett, Carnegie Hall Recording Co. (acetate)
- Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, Patrick Fournillier, Slovenska filharmonija
References
- ^ Martin, Frank (1984) Commentaires de Frank Martin sur ses œuvres publés par Maria Martin; La Baconnière, Coll. Langage, Neuchâtel, p.92 (in French)
- ^ King, Charles W. (1990) Frank Martin: A Bio-Bibliography, NY: Greenwood Press
- ^ Griffiths, Paul (1992) Liner notes for Deutsche Grammophon 435 383-2
- ^ King (1990)