Abstract Mirror is a single movement work for string quintet The composer writes: 'After listening to the Schubert Quintet it occurred to me that one of the many virtues of that score is the way the second cello is absorbed effortlessly into the texture. I became fascinated with the reverse highlighting the added sonority of the bass texture.' The title refers not only to the reverse image that a mirror provides but also to the idea of fragmentation refraction and distortion.

From the comic opera filled with pirates Turkish princes kidnapping and daring rescues Mozart's The Abduction from the Seraglio is the piece of music that generated the (possibly fictional) ?too many notes?story. It is written in the Turkish ?janissary? style a style of music that fascinated Europe at the time. In this arrangement the right hand of the piano is frequently written 8va to help recreate the piccolothat figured prominently in the original.

Concerto for String Orchestra - the magnum opus of Grayna Bacewicz (1909-1969) the outstanding composer and violinist - was composed in 1948 and at once became one of the most frequently performed works of this Polish artist. This masterpieceof neoclassicism fascinates as much by its invention and virtuosic briliance as its harmonious combination of formal elements of a traditional nature with new tonal ideas. The form of the three-movement Concerto oscillates between that of the baroqueconcerto grosso and the early classical sonata cycle. The neoclassical tendency is evident above all in the articulation of the musical structure in keeping with the rigours of periodicity and the manner of developing thematic threads derived fromthem while the concertato character of particular movements and the generally linear texture indicate baroque connections. The first movement (Allegro) - in the form of an early classical sonata allegro - begins with a subject with energeticfigurations emblematic for the whole piece and based on a constant pendulum-like semiquaver movement anchored securely on D. It is precisely because of the nature of this subject that Bacewiczs work has been compared to the Brandenburg Concertosby Jan Sebastian Bach The second movement (Andante) while retaining its concertato charakter is at the same time an example of the composers ability to create emotionally serene lyrical moods and her sense of cantilena derived from the spiritof romantic song (a motto-subject presented at the beginning by cello solo). In this movement it is both the process of evolution and the instrumental colouring which constitute the constructional agents forming here a self-containedvalue. In thethird movement (Vivo) the composer returns to her favourite type of music understood as an expression of pure motion in the form of figural motives with infinite transformational possibilities. The spontaneity of the music the constant mutabilityof the tonal situations and the sophisticated acerbic harmonies - as Witold Lutosawski described them - form a colourful mosaic built in the structural skeleton of a sonata rondo. Concerto for String Orchestra is not only proof of thestylizing tendency of the composer but also of an unerring intuition concerning the technical and expressive possibilities inherent in a string instruments ensemble. [Magorzata Gsiorowska translated by Ewa Cholewka]

Fermo Dante Marchetti - Fascination-Fermo Dante Marchetti's Fascination for Mandolin Orchestra. Score.

Soon Hee Newbold explores the colorful traditions of Spanish festivals in her latest symphonic work. From their fascinating dances to the infamous bull fights these festivals will come to life right in your concert hall. Effects include a guitar-like pizzicato (strumming) and col legno (to imitate castanets). A tango section has solos for all parts and the festive ending leads to a furious finish. Sure to be a favorite! Duration: approx. 4:30

Alfred Einstein, le musicologue éminent, a déclaré ce concerto pour piano de Mozart comme 'la création la plus caractéristique ... le sommet de toute sa réalisation instrumentale.' La durée de ces oeuvres étonnantes offre une vue sur le 'parcours fascinant d'un grand talent de pur génie.' Contrairement à la plupart du Moyen Concertos, Mozart a examiné cette sélection pour être un travail 'de chambre', où l'instrumentation de secours, et, dans le cas du mouvement Andantino, un air religieux, présentent des similitudes à certaines oeuvres chorales, comme Ave Verum Corpus. Cet arrangement permet aux thèmes mélodiques éloquents être partagées par toutes les sections, nécessitant une attention au détail et le phrasé sensible. / Orchestre A Cordes