STRING ORCHESTRA WITH SOLOIST
GUITAR DUO, minimum 4•3•3•2•1

Composed: 2022
Duration: ca. 12 minutes

Programme Note:

Published in 1883, The Confectioner’s Handbook, is a practical guide to the art of sugar boiling. A successful sugar boil requires the right equipment, and very precise temperatures. It can go horribly wrong if the confectioner is not careful, and in that case, must be discarded.

When commissioned by the Cowan-Cicchillitti Duo for a concerto with string orchestra, I decided to reflect on these processes and draw a parallel with music-making. The heat, the bubbling mixture, the precise temperatures; long strands, threads, and fractures. There is an element of danger and a risk of failure at all times. But there are also moments of beauty and indeed, sweetness. Over its 9 minutes, the concerto touches on all these images.