JOAN TOWER (b.1938) : Piano Concerto (Homage to Beethoven) ; RISING (for solo flute) ; RED MAPLE ; FLUTE CONCERTO. Marc-André Hamelin, piano; Adrian Morejon, bassoon; Carol Wincenc, flute; BOSTON MODERN ORCHESTRA PROJECT, Gil Rose, conductor.

Description: It has been a truly wonderful learning experience for me to have composed 12 concertos so far—four of which are on this recording. Unlike composing for orchestra alone, the presence of a soloist creates a different focus that brings the soloist forward as an equal partner in the music. The soloist hopefully remains front and center within the music and is heard clearly and not overwhelmed by the orchestra—either in the power of the sound or in the amount of time it is given to “speak”. I just was on a concert with Rhapsody In Blue by George Gershwin and was really impressed with not only the wonderful pacing of ideas, but the way the piano managed to speak clearly throughout the piece—even in the loudest passages—and had enough time alone to express other more intimate ideas. The feature of one instrument—surrounded by others—forced me to think deeply about the DNA of that instrument and what accompanying forces would be best to further sup- port and increase the level of expression, speed and strength provided by that particular instrument. In all my concertos, I was also concerned that the solo instrument was being clearly heard and not overwhelmed by the orchestra. For example, Red Maple, the bassoon concerto on this recording, is only accompanied by strings because I felt that, even though there is a beautiful singing quality to this low instrument, it does not have a lot of power and I wanted to keep it “up front” and primary 5 COMMENT within the setting of the strings. I was also using “velvet gloves” in my first venture featuring this wonderfully expressive instrument. On the other hand, the flute can be quite powerful—particularly in the upper registers—even with a full orchestra present. But the lower register does not project with such strength. So in my Flute Concerto, this beautifully rich low register only appears in the opening solo and in a later solo when the orchestra is not present. In contrast, the last third of the piece, which is high, loud and fast, brings the orchestra out full tilt with alternating and competing passages with the flute. In Rising, I had to also be careful to keep the violins and flute out of the same register and to not have too much of a “top heavy” sound with those three high instruments. Since the information in this piece is moving pretty fast at times, I also had to be careful how to “toss” around the registers and textures and still keep the flute forward and able to hold its own with the swirling strings. Since my music is always focused on the “action” of a line, the weight of the instruments plays a predominant role in making that action work. Because the piano has the same big register as the orchestra and is able to create the same textures, speed of notes, articulations, dynamics, and pretty much do everything an orchestra can do, it’s almost like having a second orchestra present. The big differences, however, are that the orchestra can move around many different timbres and also has much more power than the piano. So even here, I had to be aware of those two differences and still manage to keep the piano being heard with a clear voice. The minute I started the Piano Concerto, Beethoven walked in the room. I asked him politely to leave—which he refused to do. I had played a lot of Beethoven’s music (sonatas, chamber music, and even two concertos) and I can now, in my old age, freely admit that he had a huge influence on me in terms of how to try to create and motivate a strong dramatic structure. HIs sense of timing, focused alternating ideas, balancing of local rhythms, 6 textures, and registers (plus occasional big-time risks), are really extraordinary. I owe him a lot. Since he wouldn’t leave the room, I finally relented and included fragments from three of his sonatas—two of which are inside the two cadenzas, to create a kind of homage to Beethoven in a framed “dream.” - Joan Tower.