For 4

Instrumentation: Viola and Sinfonietta or Viola and Orchestra

Year of Composition: 04/2024

First Performance: Sinfonietta version: June 20th 2024/ London. Charlie Howells and Silk street Sinfonietta

Orchestra version: October 3rd 2024/ Istanbul. Charlie Howells and Gedik Philharmonic

Duration: 15 min. ca.

Notes: While sketching for a viola concerto, I found my material inevitably gravitating toward exploring each of the four strings in isolation. The idea for the A string, revealed at the concerto's end, emerged first: a pure tone violently rupturing under the pressure of the heavy viola bow's frog. Following this, I conceived the C string, which begins the piece as a meditation on two distant pitches, breathing in and out with each bow movement. It became clear that this concerto would effectively consist of four concertos, each dedicated to one string of the viola, unified by the intrinsic dialogue between the orchestra and the soloist. Textures evolve and unfold around the solo line, creating a dynamic interplay of imitation and dialogue, with fragments of material constantly recycled.

The concerto takes a turn with the G string, focusing on creating resonant spaces within the orchestra. The solo material becomes static and obsessive, with different instrumental groupings imitating each other. This constant remodelling of material and context leads to a melodic outburst on the D string, where hectic lines and accompaniments dissolve into luscious harmonies. The continuity is then abruptly broken by the sudden entry of the A string. Each string demands a distinct kind of virtuosity: the C string requires detailed bowing despite its sparse pitch content; the G string demands consistency; the D string calls for melodic projection; and the A string requires fast, rhythmic virtuosity.

"For 4" led me to question the relationship between texture and energy and how this translates into creating sections and navigating between them. I aimed to create a cycle of vitality where instruments, through the transmission of musical momentum, keep each other engaged and revitalized. This transmission of energy often occurs between the viola and the orchestra, where outbursts condense into dense lines for the soloist.

In chamber or orchestral music, the viola often conveys an inner pulse; in my concerto, this inner pulse has been extracted from the ensemble and presented as an entity unto itself.