Modern Violin, Viola and Cello Concertos

Ricardo R. Martinez - Soprano Saxophone
Digital Harp realization by Willi März

The word Viridian is defined as a chrome green pigment that is a hydrated oxide of chromium. Originally written for the sax/harp duo Pictures on Silence, Viridian Soliloquy is the third piece in my series of duets for one melodic instrument and one harmonic instrument. Each soliloquy is titled after a color – the first being cerulean (for flute and piano) and the second being obsidian (for cimbalom and theorbo). As a composer, I experience the phenomenon of synesthesia. This is where I see colors associated with sounds and vice versa. I was inspired to choose viridian for this piece because of the sometimes shiny green hue that reflects off of the body of the saxophone and the “green” timbre of the instrument. The spirit of the piece is short, fast and furious and incorporates influences from rock, jazz, heavy metal and early music.

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Viridian Soliloquy (HARP and Saxophone version)

Commissioned by the Manhattan Sinfonia and violist Karen Dreyfus. Premiered at Alice Tully Hall in 1993. Recorded here with the Warsaw Philharmonic under the direction of George Manahan and Karen Dreyfus as soloist.

Program Notes:
"I have had the good fortune to have worked with and composed for some of America's finest violists, among whom several stand out: James Dunham of the Cleveland Quartet, Marcus Thompson, Walter Trampler, Sol Greitzer, and, most recently, Karen Dreyfus, who will give the world premiere of my Viola Concerto No. 3.
"It is to the many lessons and experiences taught me by these wonderful violists that my new concerto owes its creative and spiritual stimulus. My third concerto seeks to compress the most resonant tonal areas inherent in the viola, and at the same time, expand these areas into a romantic weave of dialogue and argument.
"Cast in three movements, there are strong Baroque and Classical reminiscences which nourish the musical narrative in traditional fashion.
"Throughout the Concerto's extended development, the intrinsic difficulties of balance and compatibility between the solo viola and the orchestra are compensated for in several ways. There are many interspersed cadenzas of varying length, as well as antiphonal passages between solo and tutti and strong orchestral developments which allow the viola to remain silent from time to time.    
"I was not content with 'baby-fied' accompaniments behind the soloist. Rather, I sought a rich and texturally interesting orchestral backdrop, giving the orchestra players an interactive role in the narrative. At the same time, I hoped to preserve and showcase the richness of the viola's most sonorous properties, or dramatis personae if you will.
"Beyond all explanation, the Concerto strives for direct and visceral communication, so as to draw the listener into its action and emotional drama."
—William Thomas McKinley (© 1993), from 22 Feb 1993 and 23 Feb 1993 programs.

Concerto No. 3 for Viola and Orchestra (1992): III. Prestissimo e diabolico

Concerto No. 3 for Viola and Orchestra (1992): II. Largo

Concerto No. 3 for Viola and Orchestra (1992): I. Lamento

Commissioned by Sol Greitzer and premiered with Greitzer as soloist with Jorge Mester conducting the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra in 1987. Recorded here with Karen Dreyfus and the Silesian Philharmonic under the direction of Jerzy Swoboda.

Program Notes:
"Composing in a neo-tonal, euphonious, contemporary language, I owe much to the achievements of the American romantic composers such as George Gershwin and William Schuman filtered and synthesized through my own personal experiences in American jazz. Although this new concerto is not meant to be an overtly jazzy work, the listener who is familiar with certain modern tonalities of jazz and popular music will hear the expansion of these tonalities along with modernist rhythmic elements, cast within a wide palette of orchestral color.
"I envisioned Sol Greitzer's role in the manner of Harold in Italy. (We have occasionally teased with the idea of 'Sol in Los Angeles' or 'Sol in NewYork'). The viola part is quite continuous, seldom resting, and moves in and out of phase with the orchestra. Its presence is usually dominant, but sometimes the viola is meant to be heard only as part of the total fabric. This allows me to indulge occasionally in the large sound of the orchestra and, due to intrinsic problems of balance when the viola is used as a concerto solo instrument, I was faced with the traditional task of balancing the viola against the orchestra while at the same time justifying and enhancing the orchestral presence and involvement in the musical dialogue. Thus, as in Harold in Italy, my concerto may be viewed as a symphony with the cantus firmus or main thread of continuity throughout the work's entirety centered in the solo part.
"There are three movements, the first cast a la Haydn in a monothematic or distilled sonata form, the second a veritable presto vivo scherzo type, and the finale a chaconne cast in a very large, developing variation form not entirely unlike the form of the passacaglia in Brahms' Fourth Symphony. There are cadenzas in the first and last movements interspersed with smaller quasi-cadenza-like passages. The cadenza in the third movement begins accompanied and gradually evolves into solo. Although I have used principally classical structures for the concerto's architecture, the overall drama does indeed unfold in a long-lined, romantically lyrical manner. Melody is extremely important.  Only in the domain of harmony and color have I consciously sought a modern surface."
— William Thomas McKinley (© 1987), from 13 Mar 1987 program.

Concerto for Viola and Orchestra No. 2 (1985): II. Vivo

Concerto for Viola and Orchestra No. 2 (1985): I. Andante ma non troppo

Goettingen Symphonie Orchester, Christoph-Mathias Mueller dirigent

Ravel - Tombeau de Couperin - Toccata (orch. Hesketh)

Primavera Doubles (2000)
Double Con­certo for Vio­lin, Cello, and Orches­tra

Pri­mav­era Dou­bles (2000) was com­mis­sioned by the Bald­win Wal­lace Con­ser­va­tory of Music for vio­lin­ist Julian Ross, cel­list Regina Mushabac, and the Con­ser­va­tory Orches­tra, con­ducted by Dwight Olt­man. This Dou­ble Con­certo fea­tures a pair of soloists, but there are other “doubles”as well: each of the three move­ments is a double-movement; reflec­tions of mate­r­ial using vari­a­tion and imi­ta­tion pop­u­late the work; and two-voice writ­ing is abun­dant — the most obvi­ous exam­ple being “Echo la Pri­mav­era,” a two-voice madri­gal by 14th-century Ital­ian com­poser Francesco Lan­dini, which haunts the piece, appear­ing in var­i­ous guises and finally pro­vid­ing the work’s conclusion.



First Dou­bles: Sug­ges­tions and Saun­ter­songs begins with a dou­ble cadenza that is intro­duced and inter­rupted by a uni­son tutti motto rhythm which will re-appear obses­sively in the last move­ment. The cadenza fades to a glim­mer of dis­em­bod­ied Lan­dini and then to the Saun­ter­songs, pre­sented over a trundling pas­sacaglia bass.

Sec­ond Dou­bles: Scher­zos and Somber­songs breaks in with a rough, tur­bu­lent tutti act­ing as a foil to another lighter scherzo, which pits the pair of string soloists against a pair of drum­mers. The ensu­ing Somber­songs sim­i­larly alter­nate dark, brood­ing phrases (tuba solo answered by cello) with a high, bright ver­sion of the Lan­dini (vio­lin and glock­en­spiel, echoed by flutes). Other soul­ful and even­tu­ally radi­ant dia­logues fol­low, closed by a ghostly return of the “pairs” scherzo.

Third Dou­bles: Swag­ger­song and Saltarello reverses the shape of the other move­ments, begin­ning with a heav­ily char­ac­tered folk-song which accel­er­ates into a swirling dance. At the end, the open­ing cadenza returns, but this time it leads to a cul­mi­nat­ing invo­ca­tion of Landini’s “Pri­mav­era” madrigal.

Score PDF: http://www.donfreund.com/media/scores/orchestra/Primavera_Doubles_score.pdf
Publisher: Lauren Keiser Music Publishing
Other scores: http://www.donfreund.com

Primavera Doubles (2000) Second Doubles: Scherzos and Sombersongs

Don Freund

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Primavera Doubles (2000) Sec­ond Dou­bles: Scher­zos and Somber­songs

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Primavera Doubles (2000) Second Doubles: Scherzos and Sombersongs