| FIVE (Concerto for Amplified Cello and Orchestra) |  |
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| Five, a
concerto for amplified cello and orchestra, starts this recording off,
yet another in a distinguished series of compositions Wuorinen has
written for the cellist Fred Sherry.
Dating from 1987, it is the most recent piece on this disc and
(to employ, reluctantly, what has become an increasingly noxious code
word) probably the most “accessible.”
Five – cast,
appropriately, in five movements – begins with an arresting modal wail
for the cello, almost raga-like in its flavor, yet devoid of the
cosmetic pseudo-Orientalism a lesser composer might have employed.
Diversity abounds: In the opening movement (and most of the
others) the meter changes every measure or two; only the brisk second
movement is in 5/4 throughout. Movement
three is a solemn, impassioned meditation while the finale may be
likened to an exhilarating contrapuntal race – one that ends,
literally, with a bang.
-From
liner note by Tim Page |
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