PROGRAM NOTE
Composing for a solo, essentially melody-line instrument such as the violin, is a challenge I have found myself drawn back to time and again over the years. Inscriptions for violin follows solo works written (in reverse chronology) for flute, cello, and clarinet since 1978. The challenge for me, all the more intriguing in the context of what is generally considered non-tonal language, seems to be in creating a sense of presence, concreteness, centeredness and direction, with just a horizontal line to work with. (In the case of a string instrument double notes and chords are, of course, possible, but within definite limits.) Inscriptions, then, may be said to be an effort to carve out, with a relatively constricted textural palette, three distinct spaces in time, employing a fairly broad range of moods as well as violin playing techniques.
Perhaps the following informal sub-titles will allow a glimpse into the three pieces’ respective ‘‘states’’: Possessed; Rondino (mostly tongue-in-cheek); Upsurge.
Inscriptions was commissioned by and dedicated to Samuel Magad, Concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. It was composed in April 1991 and first performed by Mr. Magad on June 9, 1991, on the Great Performers Series, at Orchestra Hall in Chicago.
—Shulamit Ran
When listing in program, please show the following:
INSCRIPTIONS for Solo Violin (1991)
Possessed
Rondino (mostly tongue-in-cheek)
Upsurge
INFORMATION
Commissioned by Samuel Magad
Concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Premiere: June 9, 1991
Orchestra Hall, Chicago
Samuel Magad, violin
Duration: c. 12’
RECORDINGS
Eric Wyrick, violin, on Da Capo Chamber Players’ Music by Shulamit Ran, Bridge Records BCD 9052
Curtis Macomber, violin, on Songs of Solitude, CRI CD 706
SHEET MUSIC
Available from your favorite sheet music seller, or directly from Theodore Presser.