Modern Violin, Viola and Cello Concertos

A sample of American composer Jim Stephenson's music for orchestra.
www.stephensonmusic.com
To see more information on each piece, please click the individual selection.

Orchestral works - concert and concertos

string concertos

bandy stuff

Cabrillo

for wind band
performed by the Brooklyn Wind Symphony, Jeff Ball, conductor

Moth (Brooklyn Wind Symphony)

0:00  Devil Never Even Lived 
2:20  Three Dances: Cigar 
4:24  Three Dances: Toss It In A Can 
7:16  Three Dances: It Is So Tragic 

Using Igor Stravinsky’s final percussion solo from L’histoire du soldat (The Soldier’s Tale) as inspiration, James M. Stephenson’s theatrical narrative, THE DEVIL’S TALE, picks up right where Stravinsky leaves off. But on this Ravello Records release, the protagonist, Joseph, wakes up at the final drum-stroke and realizes that the Stravinsky was all a dream. He is relieved to still be in Las Vegas with Hannah, his showgirl girlfriend, at his side, where the story begins to unfold. The dramatic and astute plot about Joseph, a pit musician, and Hannah centers around their attempt to escape the city by tricking Sam, a devilish blackjack dealer and Hannah’s manager. Teeming with deceit, temptation, and revenge, the narrative is a confrontation between the natures of good and evil, in which the Devil is played at his own game of guile. Infused throughout with clever palindromes, the story comes full circle by ending just where the Stravinsky begins: on a “hot and dusty road.” Stephenson’s work is captivatingly performed by the Western Illinois University Faculty Chamber Players, conducted by Mike Fansler.

www.ravellorecords.com/catalog/rr7906

James M. Stephenson - THE DEVIL'S TALE (Western Illinois University Faculty Chamber Players)

Click link to follow score:
http://issuu.com/stephensonmusic/docs/there_are_no_words_score_-_2nd_edit
Dedicated to the victims of the June 17, 2015 Charleston, SC mass shooting that took place at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church
duration: ca. 14 minutes
Notes about the music/process:
I tried to represent (my understanding of/feelings about) stages of grief/shock that must accompany this type of event.
A. The terrible action itself - the opening nine chords
B. Shock and confusion and trying to come to grips with the reality that just happened 
C. Terrible sadness 
D. Anger and a bit of pacing/not knowing what to do next 
E. The beginnings of forgiveness; with one last anger-moment 
F. Forgiveness 

There is a chorale that starts around 10:24. This sets up a melody, which repeats nine times, once for each victim of the massacre. The rhythm of the melody is taken from the nine names. The last notes of the piece (in trumpet and euphonium) refer to "Amazing Grace" - the theme used often around this terrible event, and the victims' families response.

Recorded live at the August 7 Unity Concert, to benefit the families of the Mother Emanuel AME Church victims. The concert was produced by Chamber Music Charleston and the work was performed by a gathering of musicians from Charleston, SC; Myrtle Beach, SC; Georgia, Alabama, Pennsylvania and Chicago under the baton of Nathan Tucker. 

there are no words - premiere

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Tick Tock (Shadows: Pt. 2)

Celebration Overture (1999)
https://composerjim.com/works/celebration-overture/

for chamber orchestra
duration: 10’

Written in celebration of the 48th Anniversary season of the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, Edward Benyas, conductor
Premiered in September of 1999

Program Notes: [Original program notes were lost, so these notes were written over 10 years later]

In the fall of 1999, I was contacted by my good friend Edward Benyas, with a request to compose a new work to celebrate the 48th anniversary of the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, for a concert he would be conducting. There are three things that pop up in my head when I think back to his requests during our phone conversation.

1) The piece needed to be completed in roughly 2 weeks, 2) please feature the timpanist, and 3) really? a piece to celebrate the 48th anniversary?
The first request needs very little explanation – it was hard and furious work, but was completed on time. I have very fond memories of sitting on the porch of a cabin in Northern Michigan, overlooking a lake, while writing this work.

The second request was amusing to me. The timpanist for the concert was also a mutual friend, and it was already known that in order to play the concert, he would be driving hours from one gig, unloading timpani, then driving elsewhere, playing another job, then driving back to the first, playing, reloading timpani, etc… In other words, could I please reward him with a good part for all of the extra hassles he’d be going through just to play the concert.

The 3rd request, once I got over the initial why’s and really’s, presented a rather fun challenge and inspiration. Puns and symbolism have always been a part of my “game” when writing music, and so I took advantage of whatever I could with the number 48 (or 48th) when composing this piece. For example, the piece opens with a flurry of 40 eighth-notes in the strings (I was going to go for 48 notes, but it didn’t work, so I settled for forty 8th notes instead). Additionally, the harmonic structure of the piece is almost entirely built upon a minor 7th chord; this is because when one counts up 4 semi-tones from the root of the chord, and then another 8, the resulting notes spell out most of a minor 7th chord. [Example: C up to E-flat, and then again up to B-flat]. Lastly, the one of the main themes is a very catchy tune written to the time signature of 4/8.
Of course, all of the games and symbolism are fruitless unless the piece stands on its own musically. This is first and foremost with every piece I write, and I am pleased to say that this piece was a joy and honor to compose, and to present to the Chicago Chamber Orchestra for its premiere that September of 1999.

I was unable to make the premiere concert, but I am told that the timpanist was in rare form when performing the piece!

On March 4-5, 2011, the piece was performed by the Lake Forest Symphony, under the direction of Alan Heatherington, as an “honorary re-dedication” to the city of Lake Forest, IL, in recognition of the 150th anniversary of the city.

Jim Stephenson, August, 2010

Celebration Overture

'Tributes' Violin concerto, by James M. Stephenson.
Premiered by Jennifer Frautschi, with the Minnesota Orchestra/Osmo Vanska. April 11-14, 2012.

Stephenson - Tributes concerto for Violin and Orchestra

Performed by Roger Myers, with the Idyllwild Arts Academy Orchestra; Peter Askim, Music Director

Peter Askim: Viola Concerto

A vivid take on Washington Irving's classic tale. Complete with haunting waltzes, love themes and chase scenes. For narrator and chamber or symphony orchestra. Composed by James M. Stephenson
http://www.stephensonmusic.com/product/legend-of-sleepy-hollow

Legend of Sleepy Hollow

2nd movement of Concerto #1 for Trumpet. Jeffrey Work, soloist. Score may be viewed here: http://issuu.com/stephensonmusic/docs/trumpet_concerto_score_final_-_issu

Concerto #1 for Trumpet - II (10-20)

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

Shostakovich-Piano Concerto No.2,andante.

Viola Concerto by Donald Crockett
Kate Vincent, viola
Boston Modern Orchestra Project
Gil Rose, conductor
This is a first edit of a recording to be released on BMOP Sound as part of an all-Crockett disc.

Crockett Viola Concerto Mov 1

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)- First Dou­bles: Sug­ges­tions and Saun­ter­songs

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

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.ç

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