whisper concerto (2023)

[2222.4220.timp+2 perc.prepared piano.SOLO cello.strings (at least 12/10/8/8/6)]
Duration: 25’

Co-commissioned by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Staatstheater Darmstadt, and the BBC Philharmonic

World premiere April 20, 2023 at Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas, TX
Zlatomir Fung, soloist, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra; Gemma New, conductor

European premiere May 7, 2023 at Staatstheater Darmstadt, DE
Maximilian Hornung, soloist, and the Staatsorchester Darmstadt; Karsten Januschkle, conductor

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whisper concerto is named after the bristling, agitato ‘whisper cadenza’ of György Ligeti’s cello concerto. Like Artifacts, my concerto for violin and orchestra, this piece is not meant as a showcase for cello alone, but for the orchestra as a whole, which reacts to and augments the soloist.

 whisper concerto is a working out of several musical contradictions I find expressively intriguing: how can an andante be agitato? A presto, dolcissimo? How can a cadenza play (and be playful) with the evolving demands and expectations of performer virtuosity? How can a simple chorale become the shadow of a desperate, fluttering, noisy scorrevole? In folding together these musical opposites, I hope to have captured some of the kinetic virtuosity of Zlatomir’s playing, for whom this concerto is dedicated, along with his kindness, playfulness, gentleness of spirit, and warmth.