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SELECTED ORCHESTRAL WORKS
BACK TO MUSIC CATALOG
Grail (2006)
for orchestra (min. 4,3,2,2,1)
9 min.
After the painting by Vaclav Vaculovic. Composed for the Louisiana Sinfonietta and premiered under the direction of Dinos Constantinides.
Score and parts for rent.
MORE
Hosannas of the Second Heaven (1998)
for string orchestra; 2(2=picc).2.2.2 / 4.2.3.0 / 2 perc / str
7 min.
Featured on Fire In Heaven And Earth: Music Of Theodore Wiprud
**BUY IT NOW AT ALBANY RECORDS and AMAZON**
Based on Canto VII of Dante's Paradiso. Premiered by Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic in Zlin, Czech Republic, and performed by many professional and community orchestras in the United States.
Score and parts for rent.
MORE
Speravi (2007)
for string orchestra
designed for NYSSMA Grade 4 strings
Commissioned by David Barg.
MORE
Violin Concerto (Katrina) (2011)
for violin and orchestra
in three movements
20 min.
Composed for soloist Ittai Shapira, the concerto reflects on the devastation of New Orleans and the musical communities of the Delta, five years later. Premieres October 2011 with the Knoxville Symphony, Lucas Richman conducting.
Music for rental. Available Summer 2011.
MORE
BACK TO MUSIC CATALOG
Grail (2006)
for orchestra (min. 4,3,2,2,1)
9 min.
PROGRAM NOTE
One of the high points of Forfest 2005 for me was the direct experience of the large paintings of Vaclav Vaculovic. A director of this annual festival of contemporary art and music with spiritual content, located in picturesque Kromeriz in the Czech Republic, Mr. Vaculovic creates canvases that envelop the viewer in a swirl of color and energy, with just enough clarity to suggest images and movement. I knew right away I would want to treat these works in music, as I have done with similarly overwhelming paintings. The opportunity came when Dinos Constantinides, a fellow composer I met at Forfest, invited me to compose music for the Louisiana Sinfonietta. Having composed a good deal for string quartet, I eagerly took the challenge to write for string orchestra, treating it at times in effect as a greatly expanded chamber group of twelve. I initially thought I would treat three paintings in a single movement, but the musical impulses evoked by the painting Grail eventually overpowered all others. I find this painting very moving—initially tranquil but roiling with energy under the surface; lifting one up but never revealing the source of its light; full of both assurance and yearning. These were the qualities I aimed for in my own Grail.
—Theodore Wiprud
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Hosannas Of The Second Heaven (1998)
for string orchestra; 2 (2=picc), 2, 2, 2 / 4, 2, 3, 0 / 2 perc / str
7 min.
Featured on Fire In Heaven And Earth: Music Of Theodore Wiprud
**BUY IT NOW AT ALBANY RECORDS and AMAZON**
PROGRAM NOTE
Hosannas of the Second Heaven is the third of my works to be inspired by The Divine Comedy. In this case I turned to the third volume, "Paradiso," perhaps the least read but certainly the sunniest. How to express the joy of souls in Paradise, perpetually in the presence of God? Not timidly. Dante's conception is a place of profound joy but also resounding music, great energy, and very physical imagery. This passage refers to Justinian, a sixth-century Christian Roman emperor of Constantinople, a man of action. The image of a spinning soul bursting with light and music, drawing sparks into his vortex, proved fertile material for my imagination.
The music is constructed in a musical equivalent of terza rima, the poetic form that Dante created for his epic poem. Dante's rhyme scheme is aba bcb cdc . . . so in the music, I alternate distinct musical ideas in just this way, sometimes as jarring juxtapositions, sometimes in a seamless flow. Through the opening swirls, a rhythmic motive derived from the word 'hosanna' emerges, and soon a long-breathed melody, in chant-like whole steps, intones the rhythms of the three-line Latin hymn cited above. The music proceeds through moods now graceful, now athletic; and as the hymn returns, the whole mass of swirling sound ascends, recedes, and vanishes.
Hosannas of the Second Heaven was first performed and recorded by the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic in the Czech Republic in November 2001.
—Theodore Wiprud
BACK TO SELECTED ORCHESTRAL WORKS
BACK TO PREVIOUS PAGE
Speravi (2007)
for string orchestra
designed for NYSSMA Grade 4 strings
PROGRAM NOTE
This work was almost titled "Hopscotch Holiday," an inside joke with conductor and clinician David Barg who with me deplores the insipid music young musicians so often must play. I accepted David's challenge to compose music for mid-level string orchestra that would retain my voice as a composer, while remaining within students' technical abilities. Wonderful recent experiences writing for youth choruses emboldened me. I wanted once more to give young musicians my real music, to probe feelings as deep as any found in my professional-level chamber and orchestra music. This led to a piece with melodies no longer than three notes, mostly just pulses and scales, but tremendous contrast, and a progression from agitation to serenity. I hope living with this music, as young players do through extended rehearsal periods, opens a door for them to a musical world beyond peppy tunes, and helps give voice to emotions I surely remember from that period in my life. The work premieres under David Barg's baton on November 3, 2007, in Akron, New York at the New York State School Music Association's All-State Regional Festival.
—Theodore Wiprud
BACK TO SELECTED ORCHESTRAL WORKS
BACK TO PREVIOUS PAGE
Violin Concerto (Katrina) (2011)
for violin and orchestra
in three movements
20 min.
PROGRAM NOTE
Hurricane Katrina's devastation of a major U.S. city, one of the great disasters of recent times, has many stories left to tell. The fifth anniversary of the storm came in September 2010, but the legacy of displacement only began in 2005 and continues to have its impact—this is an ongoing story that should not be limited to anniversaries. Wiprud's first concerto for any instrument, the Violin Concerto (Katrina) reflects on the devastation wrought by the storm and the flood, on the musical life of the whole Delta. It concerns the resilience of music and life in the face of disaster—how the whole mix of Cajun, blues, and jazz tell the story of people's lives and cultures.
Each orchestra performing the Violin Concerto (Katrina) can shape the event its own ways. It can be an occasion for people in the community telling their own stories. It can be part of a festival also involving performances by Cajun, blues, and jazz musicians. It can feature readings by public figures. Events around performances can be planned to target support for institutions related to Katrina, for instance helping to rebuild in New Orleans and other cities that have been affected by Katrina.
The Violin Concerto (Katrina) offers enormous possibilities for educational projects, and the composer Theodore Wiprud, as director of the New York Philharmonic's wide-ranging educational programs, is ideally equipped to design and assist in creative projects for children, teens, or adults.
This new score will be available in the summer of 2011. It is being composed for the brilliant young soloist Ittai Shapira, who has premiered many important concerti, including those of Shulamit Ran and Avner Dorman, and who has himself composed several concerti.
BACK TO SELECTED ORCHESTRAL WORKS
BACK TO PREVIOUS PAGE
BACK TO MUSIC CATALOG
Grail (2006)
for orchestra (min. 4,3,2,2,1)
9 min.
After the painting by Vaclav Vaculovic. Composed for the Louisiana Sinfonietta and premiered under the direction of Dinos Constantinides.
Score and parts for rent.
MORE
Hosannas of the Second Heaven (1998)
for string orchestra; 2(2=picc).2.2.2 / 4.2.3.0 / 2 perc / str
7 min.
Featured on Fire In Heaven And Earth: Music Of Theodore Wiprud
**BUY IT NOW AT ALBANY RECORDS and AMAZON**
Based on Canto VII of Dante's Paradiso. Premiered by Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic in Zlin, Czech Republic, and performed by many professional and community orchestras in the United States.
Score and parts for rent.
MORE
Speravi (2007)
for string orchestra
designed for NYSSMA Grade 4 strings
Commissioned by David Barg.
MORE
Violin Concerto (Katrina) (2011)
for violin and orchestra
in three movements
20 min.
Composed for soloist Ittai Shapira, the concerto reflects on the devastation of New Orleans and the musical communities of the Delta, five years later. Premieres October 2011 with the Knoxville Symphony, Lucas Richman conducting.
Music for rental. Available Summer 2011.
MORE
BACK TO MUSIC CATALOG
Grail (2006)
for orchestra (min. 4,3,2,2,1)
9 min.
PROGRAM NOTE
One of the high points of Forfest 2005 for me was the direct experience of the large paintings of Vaclav Vaculovic. A director of this annual festival of contemporary art and music with spiritual content, located in picturesque Kromeriz in the Czech Republic, Mr. Vaculovic creates canvases that envelop the viewer in a swirl of color and energy, with just enough clarity to suggest images and movement. I knew right away I would want to treat these works in music, as I have done with similarly overwhelming paintings. The opportunity came when Dinos Constantinides, a fellow composer I met at Forfest, invited me to compose music for the Louisiana Sinfonietta. Having composed a good deal for string quartet, I eagerly took the challenge to write for string orchestra, treating it at times in effect as a greatly expanded chamber group of twelve. I initially thought I would treat three paintings in a single movement, but the musical impulses evoked by the painting Grail eventually overpowered all others. I find this painting very moving—initially tranquil but roiling with energy under the surface; lifting one up but never revealing the source of its light; full of both assurance and yearning. These were the qualities I aimed for in my own Grail.
—Theodore Wiprud
BACK TO SELECTED ORCHESTRAL WORKS
BACK TO PREVIOUS PAGE
Hosannas Of The Second Heaven (1998)
for string orchestra; 2 (2=picc), 2, 2, 2 / 4, 2, 3, 0 / 2 perc / str
7 min.
Featured on Fire In Heaven And Earth: Music Of Theodore Wiprud
**BUY IT NOW AT ALBANY RECORDS and AMAZON**
PROGRAM NOTE
Hosannas of the Second Heaven is the third of my works to be inspired by The Divine Comedy. In this case I turned to the third volume, "Paradiso," perhaps the least read but certainly the sunniest. How to express the joy of souls in Paradise, perpetually in the presence of God? Not timidly. Dante's conception is a place of profound joy but also resounding music, great energy, and very physical imagery. This passage refers to Justinian, a sixth-century Christian Roman emperor of Constantinople, a man of action. The image of a spinning soul bursting with light and music, drawing sparks into his vortex, proved fertile material for my imagination.
The music is constructed in a musical equivalent of terza rima, the poetic form that Dante created for his epic poem. Dante's rhyme scheme is aba bcb cdc . . . so in the music, I alternate distinct musical ideas in just this way, sometimes as jarring juxtapositions, sometimes in a seamless flow. Through the opening swirls, a rhythmic motive derived from the word 'hosanna' emerges, and soon a long-breathed melody, in chant-like whole steps, intones the rhythms of the three-line Latin hymn cited above. The music proceeds through moods now graceful, now athletic; and as the hymn returns, the whole mass of swirling sound ascends, recedes, and vanishes.
Hosannas of the Second Heaven was first performed and recorded by the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic in the Czech Republic in November 2001.
—Theodore Wiprud
BACK TO SELECTED ORCHESTRAL WORKS
BACK TO PREVIOUS PAGE
Speravi (2007)
for string orchestra
designed for NYSSMA Grade 4 strings
PROGRAM NOTE
This work was almost titled "Hopscotch Holiday," an inside joke with conductor and clinician David Barg who with me deplores the insipid music young musicians so often must play. I accepted David's challenge to compose music for mid-level string orchestra that would retain my voice as a composer, while remaining within students' technical abilities. Wonderful recent experiences writing for youth choruses emboldened me. I wanted once more to give young musicians my real music, to probe feelings as deep as any found in my professional-level chamber and orchestra music. This led to a piece with melodies no longer than three notes, mostly just pulses and scales, but tremendous contrast, and a progression from agitation to serenity. I hope living with this music, as young players do through extended rehearsal periods, opens a door for them to a musical world beyond peppy tunes, and helps give voice to emotions I surely remember from that period in my life. The work premieres under David Barg's baton on November 3, 2007, in Akron, New York at the New York State School Music Association's All-State Regional Festival.
—Theodore Wiprud
BACK TO SELECTED ORCHESTRAL WORKS
BACK TO PREVIOUS PAGE
Violin Concerto (Katrina) (2011)
for violin and orchestra
in three movements
20 min.
PROGRAM NOTE
Hurricane Katrina's devastation of a major U.S. city, one of the great disasters of recent times, has many stories left to tell. The fifth anniversary of the storm came in September 2010, but the legacy of displacement only began in 2005 and continues to have its impact—this is an ongoing story that should not be limited to anniversaries. Wiprud's first concerto for any instrument, the Violin Concerto (Katrina) reflects on the devastation wrought by the storm and the flood, on the musical life of the whole Delta. It concerns the resilience of music and life in the face of disaster—how the whole mix of Cajun, blues, and jazz tell the story of people's lives and cultures.
Each orchestra performing the Violin Concerto (Katrina) can shape the event its own ways. It can be an occasion for people in the community telling their own stories. It can be part of a festival also involving performances by Cajun, blues, and jazz musicians. It can feature readings by public figures. Events around performances can be planned to target support for institutions related to Katrina, for instance helping to rebuild in New Orleans and other cities that have been affected by Katrina.
The Violin Concerto (Katrina) offers enormous possibilities for educational projects, and the composer Theodore Wiprud, as director of the New York Philharmonic's wide-ranging educational programs, is ideally equipped to design and assist in creative projects for children, teens, or adults.
This new score will be available in the summer of 2011. It is being composed for the brilliant young soloist Ittai Shapira, who has premiered many important concerti, including those of Shulamit Ran and Avner Dorman, and who has himself composed several concerti.
BACK TO SELECTED ORCHESTRAL WORKS
BACK TO PREVIOUS PAGE
