Variations on a Theme of Mozart for orchestra Op.75 (2001) c.20'00"

3d1.3.3.3/4.3.3.1/timp/hp/pno d cel/perc(4)/strings

Dedicated to Charles Dutoit

Commissioned by the NHK Symphony, Tokyo for their 75th Anniversary

First Performed on October 5, 2001 at NHK Hall in Tokyo, Japan by The NHK Symphony conducted by Charles Dutoit

Published by Theodore Presser Company

ABOUT

The “Variations on a Theme of Mozart” were commissioned by the NHK Symphony in Tokyo to celebrate their 75th anniversary.  The work received its world premiere with that orchestra under the baton of Charles Dutoit in October of 2001.  This commission provided me with the opportunity to complete a work that I had in mind to write for a long time: a set of orchestral variations on the Romance from Act III of Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail.  Originally conceived as a feindishly difficult work for two pianos, it became apparent to me that the material demanded a large orchestra to properly realize my intentions. Composition of the work was finished in early August of 2001.  Scored for a large orchestra, the instrumental writing is virtuosic and highlights the different orchestral choirs.

In the original Mozart theme the tenor melody (sung by Pedrillo to the words “Im Mohrenland gefangen war ein Mädel hübsch und fein”) is accompanied by pizzicato strings in imitation of a guitar. Here, I have stated the theme in a quirky and somewhat irreverent manner. The fourteen variations that follow put Mozart’s theme through a variety of transformations, including a mock-ragtime variation and an eight-voice fugue that culminates in a quotation of “Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott.” The latter quote is included as a sort of ‘musical pun’: Mozart’s melody traces the same musical contour as Luther’s hymn

RECORDINGS

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REVIEWS

“…his Variations on a Theme of Mozart…is a delight. It’s witty, technically sophisticated and flashily scored…All told, it’s quite a showpiece.”
The Dallas Morning News