Restless World Anew

Instrumentation: 3.2.2.3 | 4.3.3.1 | S.Q. | T+2 | pno. | strings
Duration: 19 minutes
Year: 2023 – 2024

Program Notes

In this concerto, the string quartet and orchestra engage in a dialogue that mirrors humanity’s complex relationship with Earth. The work unfolds across three movements, each exploring different facets of this environmental narrative. The opening movement, “Delicate Dreams”, establishes an initially harmonious relationship, with the quartet’s gestures reverberating through the orchestral texture, symbolizing the far-reaching impact of human activity on our planet. As the movement progresses, this delicate balance begins to falter, with the quartet’s actions triggering increasing instability in the orchestral response.

The second movement, titled “Reflection”, serves as a contemplative interlude—a musical metaphor for humanity’s necessary period of reflection and recognition of environmental responsibility. This requiem traverses a complex harmonic landscape before emerging into light, suggesting the possibility of transformation through understanding.

The final movement, “Renewal,” was inspired by an autumn walk through a forest in Calgary, where I observed the vibrant activity of local birds preparing for winter. This natural scene becomes the foundation for a movement of regeneration and hope, completing the concerto’s arc from environmental crisis to potential restoration. Throughout the work, the relationship between quartet and orchestra is a metaphor for our ecosystem that addresses one of the most pressing issues of our time: humanity’s stewardship of the natural world.

The concerto is generously co-commissioned by the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music and the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra directed by Jose Luis-Novo with gracious support from Justus and Elizabeth Schlichting.