Orchestra and Wind Ensemble

Highlights

Rhapsodecaphrenia

Jonathan Posthuma, 2013

Reading in December 2013 by UW - Madison Wind Ensemble, Scott Teeple, director.

Rhapsodecaphrenia

"Fili di Perle" (Strings of Pearls) was composed for the Karol Szymanowski Composition Competition and was awarded 3rd Prize. The piece was premiered by the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland; under the direction of Maciej Tomasiewicz.

Fili di Perle (Strings of Pearls)

The scherzo from  Chamber Symphony "Beams of Heaven" incorporates three American hymn tunes: "Beams of Heaven," "There is a Fountain Filled With Blood," and "Jesus Paid It All." The scherzo pays homage to Mahler and Ives in many ways, and when finished will be the central movements of the work. This movement was premiered in Curitiba, Brazil as part of the IV BIENAL MÚSICA HOJA with the Orquestra Filarmônica da Universidade Federal do Paraná , led by Maestro Prof. Dr. Antônio Carlos Borges-Cunha.

"Scherzo" from Chamber Symphony - Beams of Heaven

World Premiere by the American Modern Orchestra at the Mostly Modern Festival, June 3, 2018. Martim Sousa Tavares, conductor

A "ricercar" is a Baroque form, often likened to a "fugal fantasia" and is usually improvised as an introduction to a larger work. As the first movement of "Chamber Symphony," broad harmonic and thematic concepts are presented, which will be developed in subsequent movements.

"Ricercar" from Chamber Symphony - Beams of Heaven

World Premiere by the American Modern Orchestra at the Mostly Modern Festival, June 3, 2018.

Martim Sousa Tavares, conductor

The second of four "tone poems" in the full work, "The Flood - clouds may hide tomorrow's sun" creates a watery landscape filled with rising tension and swirling currents of sound. The climax is a cloudburst, when the heavens open, allowing the listener to finally let go and "join the storm."

"II. The Flood - clouds may hide tomorrow's sun" from Chamber Symphony - Beams of Heaven

Premiered by American Modern Ensemble
June 14, 2018, Mostly Modern Festival, Saratoga Springs, NY

"Dream City" (Traum-Stadt, 1921)
Luminescent green, blue, pink, and silver shapes shimmer in the moonlight, creating a city of crystal, like one seen in a dream, which slowly evaporates into the night.

Dream City (Traum-Stadt, 1921) - No. 22 From Paul Klee Painted Songs

Premiered by American Modern Ensemble
June 14, 2018, Mostly Modern Festival, Saratoga Springs, NY

"Carnival in the Mountains" (Karneval im Gebirge, 1924)
Dimly lit but multi-colored figures, some appearing to be vendors, performers, animals, and costumed guests, blend together in a scene both jovial and grotesque beneath the faint blue mountains in the distance, which form a peaceful contrast to the frenzied activity of the foreground.

Carnival in the Mountains (Karvneval im Gebirge, 1924) - No. 17 from Paul Klee : Painted Songs

Premiered by American Modern Ensemble
June 14, 2018, Saratoga Springs, NY

"Rose Garden" (Rosengarten, 1920)
Twenty-seven roses are sprinkled aesthetically throughout a city of pink, orange, and white buildings, criss-crossed by streets and pathways. This use of a recurring symbolic motive keeps the eye moving throughout the community, and observe its structures from various perspectives while exploring the garden.

Rose Garden (Rosengarten, 1920) - No. 13 from Paul Klee Painted Songs

Collection of recorded compositions of Jonathan Posthuma, composer.

"Ricercar" from Chamber Symphony - Beams of Heaven

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