Gallery

Premiere: "Stack the Dectet." Atlanta, GA 4/1/07

Score: Version A (fl, cl, bsn, tpt, hn, tbn, perc, vln, vla, cb)
Score: Version B (fl, ob, cl, bsn, hn, perc, vln, vla, vc, cb)

Gallery is a set of eight miniatures for large chamber ensemble inspired by painters of the 1950s New York abstract expressionist school. Although some of the movements were inspired by specific paintings, most attempt to depict some general characteristics of each painter's style.


Clyfford Still - 1964

Clyfford Still's work often juxtaposes large fields of color, with pieces seemingly "ripped off" to reveal other colors underneath.



Willem De Kooning - Excavation

Willem De Kooning's work is forceful, often bordering on the grotesque, and inspired compositionally by Cubism.



Franz Kline - New York, NY

Franz Kline's paintings resemble Japanese calligraphy, but the artist was actually depicting his impressions of machinery, bridges, and scaffolding.



Robert Motherwell - Elegy for the Spanish Republic #34

The most famous and long-running of Robert Motherwell's works was the series called "Elegies for the Spanish Republic," which often employ a similar group of four large black shapes.



Barnett Newman - White Fire 1

Barnett Newman called the recurring vertical line in his work a "zip" and this brief movement divides a field of sound with a quick musical "zip."



Adolph Gottlieb - Untitled

Some of the more famous of Adolph Gottlieb's works are the "Bursts" which feature a vertical arrangment on a white background consisting of an orb over a rough explosion.



Mark Rothko - Red, Orange, Tan, and Purple

Mark Rothko's simple but evocative paintings often feature a vertical layout of rectangles with soft edges.



Lee Krasner - Cool White

Lee Krasner was most famous as being Mrs. Jackson Pollock, but was a successful artist in her own right, using some similar techniques her husband, but also using collage and other techniques to create energetic works with large fields of color.


Recording personnel: Tenecia Stanton, flute; Steven Gooden, clarinet; Stephanie Koher, bassoon; Brent Milam, trumpet; Ashleigh Rider, horn; Matt Scott, trombone; Caleb Herron, percussion; Katie Baughman, violin; Kim Piper, viola; Mike Beshara, contrabass