Jonathan Newman

This Concertino takes the lively French chamber wind literature of the early 20th-century as its starting point, but this piece views the “French” style through an odd lens, twisting and bending the language of that neo-Classical genre in order to run the music through very different stylistic approaches. In the later movements, the Franco-survey is expanded to other inspirations—to not only the techniques of other French nationals, but also of those I consider “French” in spirit, such as Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu. In writing the piece, I was particularly excited to explore these styles while juxtaposing the virtuosity of the soloist with the delicate intimacy of the chamber ensemble.

Practically, the work comes out of the efforts of my friend and colleague Robert Ambrose, a champion of new music who encouraged me to write for chamber winds, and flute in particular, and who shepherded the project with infectious enthusiasm. The Concertino is dedicated to flutist Sarah Kruser Ambrose, for whom it was written.

to the 4/08 1st Edition

MVT 1

• m.147 Ob, EH cresc. to mf
• m.155, EH, Bsn 2, Horns cresc. to f
• m.155, flute solo slurs are dashed phrase markings, and the first one should extend to the 2nd 16th of bt.2
• m.208 flute solo quintuplet slurred
• m.218-219 flute trills half-step, except F (trilled to G)

MVT 2
• m.37, flute solo and Hn 1 cresc. to f

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(for score & parts to the 4/07 uncorrected editon)

MVT 1

• m.48 Flute should be beamed 2+3
• m.107-113 (letter H) – flip the English Horn and Bassoon 2 parts. Bsn plays what EH plays and vice-versa. This significantly helps the balance so you can hear the bassoon solo
• m.168, flute solo – leave out beat 1 if necessary during the instrument switch. The flutist at the premiere was able to swing it with some fancy taping of the solo part so she didn’t have to turn the page as well.
• if nec., for balance, you can leave out Horn 2 at reh. N, until m.204

MVT 2

• m.11 Clarinet trills to written F4 (whole-step)
• m.18 & 64 piano – “bisbigliando” is spelled incorrectly
• m.30 alto flute harmonics – tongued, not slurred.
• m.33 Clarinet trills to written B-flat (whole step)
• m.34 horn 1 – eighth note + staccato – no note extender
• m.38 horn 1 OUT (measure rest) — this is for balance so you can hear the alto flute better. So now that line hops over to the EH.
• m.38 piano, p not pp
• m.47-50 alto flute dynamics bumped up one level
• m.50 – alto flute harmonics, tongued – no slur
• m.67-8 piano D-flat and E-flat 3’s are harmonics, as before
• last measure – horns “con sord.”

MVT 3

• m.25, alto flute last beat: E-nat, G-flat, A-flat, A-nat. (Gb5 not Eb5)
• m.34-5, horns open
• m.45 & 155 Oboe, beat 1: G-flat
• m.45 & 155 Clarinet 1, 2nd note is a C#
• m.102-3 Oboe: B-flats until the B-natural
• m.108 Clarinet 2 first note: A-flat (not A-nat)
• m.156 Flute last beat B-nat, D-flat, E-flat, E-nat (Db6 not Bb5)