Full Orchestra - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.533667 Composed by Carson Cooman. Contemporary. Score and parts. 54 pages. Musik Fabrik Music Publishing #3037087. Published by Musik Fabrik Music Publishing (A0.533667). Pittsburgh Concerto (2005) was written for the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic and isdedicated to Amy Stabenow, concert manager at Carnegie Mellon’s School of Music. Thepiece was conceived as a tribute to the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.The work contains only two specific “programmatically inspired” images related toPittsburgh. They form the outer two sections of the work. The inner four sections areinspired more abstractly by various aspects of the city, its landscapes, and its people; theyfeature a series of solos and duets for many members of the orchestra – in the manner of a“concerto for orchestra.”The opening of the work is inspired by Pittsburgh’s history as America’s steel capital.Colors and sounds of the clangorous industrial age of America’s past are evoked. The basicmusical material (a six-note cell) for the entire work is presented in this aggressiveintroduction. Throughout the rest of the work, this basic material is developed in ways thatrange from lushly romantic to aggressively athletic.The following section is marked “slow, lush” and features a duet first between trumpet andtuba, over warm harmonies in the orchestra. A brief duet for vibraphone and marimba leadsto an extended viola solo.The next section is fast and energetic. It begins with an athletic duet for English horn andbass trombone, followed by a ringing duet of tubular bells and crotales. The final solo is forviolin, as the orchestral texture disintegrates around it.The next section, marked “slow, mystical”, begins with a duet between piano and bassclarinet. A passionate horn duo follows before a passage for solo bass leads directly into thenext section.This section is fragmentary and halting. An unpitched duo of bass drum and flexatonebegins, leading to an aggressive and abortive duet between solo flute and bassoon. Finally,an extended cello solo closes the section.The final part of the work is inspired by my first visit to Pittsburgh. When driving in fromPittsburgh airport (which is far outside the city), the city itself is “hidden” from the road byhills. Upon reaching the hills, one enters the Fort Pitt tunnel and, after a few moments,emerges from it on a suspension bridge over the Monongahela River. Late at night, this wasa truly breathtaking moment as the city and its rivers emerged suddenly in a mass of glitteringlights. The ecstatic rush of the lighted city at night is portrayed in this section – amidstfragments from the opening, recalling the industrial past, now transformed into somethingnew.Instrumentation3 Flutes (3rd dbl. Picc.)2 OboesEnglish Horn3 Clarinets in BbBass Clarinet in Bb2 BassoonsContrabassoon4 Horns in F/Bb3 Trumpets in Bb2 TrombonesBass TromboneTubaTimpaniPercussion (3 players)I: tubular bells, bass drumII: vibraphone (motor off)III: crotales, marimba, flexatone(Percussion II needs two rosined bows.Percussion III needs one rosined bow.)PianoViolin IViolin IIViolaCelloContrabass(principal/solo contrabass must have machine extension to low Db)This is the score only. The parts are available on rental from the publisher
