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World Premiere of Andrew Norman's Spiral with the Berlin Philharmonic

Jun. 06, 2018

World Premiere of Andrew Norman's <em>Spiral</em> with the Berlin Philharmonic

On June 14-16, the Berlin Philharmonic, under the direction of Sir. Simon Rattle, performs the world premiere of Andrew Norman's Spiral, a work that was commissioned to celebrate Sir Simon's final season with the orchestra.  Andrew Norman notes:

"Spiral is a short piece that traces the transformations of a small number of instrumental gestures as they orbit each other in ever-contracting circles...the idea of a "spiral-shaped" orchestra piece is something I've been thinking about for a while.  Some of the musical ideas and gestures in this piece were definitely inspired by my experiences of and with Simon and the Berlin Philharmonic (namely their unique physical energy and precision), but the idea of a spiral is not directly connected to them."

In addition, on June 8-10, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra presents Andrew Norman's Gran Turismo alongside Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 and Brahms's Serenade No. 2. At first glance, Italian Futurist Art, Baroque Concerto Grosso and a race car video games seem to be utterly dissimilar entities, but in 2003 Andrew Norman, almost by accident, discerned the inherent similarities between these endeavors, namely, speed and flamboyant machismo. These characteristics inspired him to write Gran Turismo, a motoric, virtuoso piece for eight violins that sets off on a musical collision course of kinetic energy right from the first note.

Listen to Andrew Norman's Try (2011) here: 


(Try/Andrew Norman/Boston Modern Orchestra Project/Gil Rose, conductor)

To learn more about Andrew Norman, please visit schott-music.com

Andrew Norman
Gran Turismo (2004)
for eight violins
8'

Spiral (2018)
3.3.3.3-4.3.2.btbn.1-3perc(I: 2 crot, 4 hi tempbl; II: 2 alm, 4 low tempbl; III: 2 pitched gongs, 4 log drums)-hp(with 6 pitches tuned a quarter tone flat).pno-str(8.7.6.5.4 stands)
7'

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