Program Notes
William Bolcom
Concerto Grosso

The Music
Concerto Grosso, written for the PRISM Quartet (which includes two of my former students), is intended purely as a piece to be enjoyed by performers and listeners.  In 1993, PRISM expressed an interest in having me compose a concerto grosso for their group.  (To remind readers, a concerto grosso is a Baroque-era form involving a concerto - a small group of players, in this case our quartet - in dialogue with the ripieno, the large orchestra.)  Although each member of PRISM is an excellent soloist, I took their request to mean that I should emphasize their group identity, their "fourness."  This immediately called up two precedents in my mind: the Schumann Concerto for Horn Quartet, and (of all things) the early Beatles in their mode of dress and style of movement.

The first movement, Lively, in simple sonata form, evokes blues harmonies in both of its themes.  Song without Words, which follows, is a lyrical Larghetto.  The third movement, Valse, begins with a long solo stretch for the saxophone quartet; the development of this theme alternates with a pianissimo Scherzetto section.  The final Badinerie, a title borrowed from Bach, evokes bebop and rhythm-and-blues.        William Bolcom

Concerto Grosso was commissioned by New Sounds Music, Incorporated for the PRISM Quartet with support from the National Endowment for the Arts; Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts; Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs; George V. & Rena G. Castagnola Family Foundation; Philadelphia Music Project (funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by Settlement Music School).

Disposition of orchestra: 2 Flutes (picc.), 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons; 4 Horns, 
2 Trumpets, 2 Trombones, Tuba; Timpani, Percussion and Strings.