Symphonic Essay - William C. White

Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra conducted by William C. White I - Adagio - Poco più mosso - Allegro - Andante assai e con rubato - Più mosso - Tempo I - Poco trattenuto - Lo stesso tempo - Poco adagio - Tempo I - Più mosso: 0:00 White's Symphonic Essay was composed between December 2013 and January 2014, written for the musicians of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra, which the composer was leading at the time. It was premiered by said orchestra on 2014, conducted by William C. White. The piece would become the first movement of a Symphony completed on May 2015. Citing Frank's and Chausson's symphonies as major influences, the composer mentions that the themes are all motivically related. The essay is written in sonata form. It begins with a tense introduction, with timpani and flexatone over severe sustained string chords. Brass and woodwinds soon enter, creating a dense and dissonant texture. An expressive march emerges and briefly unfolds from this material. Fateful brass calls begin a crescendo that begins the main allegro. A rhythmic and resolute main theme is presented by strings and woodwinds, which after a transition, is contrasted by a lyrical and romantic second theme. The music grows into a grand and passionate climax. Then brass calls and an agitated transition leads to the development of the material, beginning with a contrapuntal transformation of the introductory march. After a dissonant climax with the fateful brass call on top, a varied recapitulation of the main themes begins. After a dream-like static passage, the main theme reappears forcefully, galloping to a potent coda. Picture: "Evening Rains Downtown" (2011) by the U.S. painter Jeremy Mann. Musical analysis written by myself. Source: https://tinyurl.com/25r5oe9n Unfortunatelly, the score isn't available.