Commissioned by the Riverside Symphony of New York City. Premiered by same, George Rothman, conductor, June 6, 2012 in Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, New York City.
PROGRAM NOTE:
The Tree Without End is a single movement, 17-minute, free-form composition. It takes as its inspiration the French picture book L’Arbre sans fin (1992) by Claude Ponti.
Inspired by the highly evocative title, which resonated for me in abstract terms of fertility, infinity, and the natural Earth, I express this in musical terms, exploring how diverse musical building blocks might work together in a world of infinite possibility, various elements modifying each other to expand their respective characteristics, seemingly “infinitely.” The book’s magic is in its sequenced, cartoon-style artwork, Seussical beings that poeticize the Everyday, and dream text that allows for multiple interpretations. It is essentially a coming-of-age story for a young child, who deals with the loss of her grandmother by falling into a dreamworld where she must conquer her fears of the unknown–represented in a miniature, Odyssey-like journey among the roots of the tree–in order to return home. It would be difficult to summarize the book sans imagery in these program notes. Ponti’s work is purposefully open, residing within a world of dreams and emotion.
Some of my earliest, most powerful experiences with orchestral-classical masterworks were via the great ballets of the early 20th century: Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe, the mighty Diaghilev ballets of Stravinsky, Copland’s Appalachian Spring, and Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin. The underlying dramatic narratives of these classics are rarely, if ever, a necessity to experience the brilliant musical invention inherent in these works. I submit that idea as an entrée into my free-form, episodic flight of fancy designed, one hopes, purely to delight.
2222 2211 Timp+1 Harp Strings
Printed full score available from Subito Music.
The Tree Without End
2222 2211 Timp+1 Harp Strings
Printed full score available from Subito Music.