(visit http://www.carlschimmel.com to purchase score and parts)
I wrote my Piano Concerto for pianist Blair McMillen and the Raleigh Civic Symphony conducted by Randolph Foy. The neo-Romantic first movement, “Fantod” (“outburst of emotion, fit”), features the soloist as both aggressive virtuoso and as a subtle residual resonance which emerges from the orchestral texture. The second movement, “Lament,” serves as a simple, pensive, and sorrowful aftermath to the frenzied first movement. In the third movement, “Rondoburlesque,” the mood of the work becomes considerably more lighthearted, and moments of the first two movements are caricatured. The Concerto thus moves through a series of emotional states, from anger and agitation to sorrow to happiness and playfulness. Much of my recent music explores these kinds of emotional shifts.
This work was funded in part by the Composer Assistance Program of the American Music Center, and by Duke University.
