Work
Beginnings
for orchestra
Films, Audio & Samples
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About
Beginnings was commissioned by Auckland Philharmonia. It was inspired by the birth of Ritchie's son Tristan. It depicts the slowly mounting tension of the labour, through to the birth itself. There is a gradual growth in the music from small, delicate gestures into wild and pulsating ones towards the end. The child is represented by a 'little Tristan waltz' which eventually gets caught up in the musical frenzy. The waltz sequence imposes order on the music, which tends to be fragmentary and changeable. There are some echoes of Bartok and Debussy in this early work, and it presents a good challenge for a professional orchestra.
Commissioned note
Commissioned by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
Dedication note
To Tracy and Tristan
Contents note
one movement
Performance history
08 Oct 1987: Performed by the Auckland Philharmonia, conductor Stuart Challender.
Performed by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by John Hopkins