"Niobe is the story of a strong woman brought down by an even stronger woman, the goddess Leto. I have tried to portray in music Niobe's sensuality, feistiness, pride, arrogance, remorse, defiance as the story of her blasphemy against the goddess Leto and her extraordinarily harsh consequent punishment unfolds. The relationship of the violin soloist to the orchestra is inspired by the dramatic unfolding of the myth. I am indebted to Tamsin Waley-Cohen for her encouragement and support as we developed the concept for Niobe and her brilliance as a soloist and interpreter of my music.
Kalon is the Greek word for perfect physical and moral beauty, as conceived by the philosophers of Classical Greece. The three movements explore different aspects of kalon, also the context in which beauty can exist in ugliness and darkness. The two string groups (quartet and orchestra) frequently play in different tempi simultaneously, thereby producing complex and rich sonorities and textures. Each movement approaches the combined tempi differently, and each movement explores new antiphonal possibilities, new approaches to counterpoint, new definitions of rhythmic consonance and dissonance. (Richard Blackford)
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