Overture to Henry V [HL:367910]

Premiere Slovak Radio Orchestra, June 30, 1992, Bratislava, Slovakia, Robert Black, conductor; Lydia Forbes, violin. Henry V is an overture, but with a violin protagonist. This is a concerto, but the density of interaction between soloist and orchestra is far more intense than in any previous work, whether classical or modern. Its form is somewhat analogous to sonata, but it middle sectionbreaks away completely from what has come before into an exhilarating 5-8 ostinato. There is a joy in dissonance here, an embracing of pain, and all the sorrow of existence, as part a Gita-like vision of the horrible, terrifying beauty of men throwing themselves into the slaughter, straining their utmost in a joyous ?dance?of mud and death. As such, the energy of the piece is compact, and onfirst listen, potentially overwhelming. Metaphors of the individual coming out of a society, being influenced by and then interacting with that society, and then finally leading it are strongly evoked by this work in a non-specific, archetypal way. Winner of Marin Symphony (CA) Composers Symposium Competition (1993).