Description

Allegro energico     –     Adagio     –     Vivace     (25 mins)

2 (=piccolo).2.2.2.   –   4.3.3.1.   –   timpani, percussion (3)   –   piano   –   strings

The second movement of Symphony 1 is a slowly unfolding Adagio , beginning and ending with pp strings , separated by  a languorous, rather sultry melody for clarinet . The third movement performs the double function of scherzo and finale, and is the most complex of the three. It is an orchestral vivace, rhythmically polyphonic over a simple 6/8 metre, which changes several times, in the tradition of Stravinsky’s Symphony in three movements or Petrushka, particularly for the prominence it gives to the piano as an orchestral instrument. It is supported by two orchestral outbursts, which act as structural pillars – rhythmically articulated chords for full brass and wind, over a string tremolando, in the tradition of Walton’s first symphony , or Portsmouth Point.

LISTEN TO A SOUND SAMPLE (13’ 11”)
II Adagio 6’ 53”
III Vivace 6’ 18”