Oboe, clarinet, violin, viola, doublebass
Movements:
I.Introdução – Acrobático
II.Mesto
III.Marcha
IV.Trapèze
V.Pesante
VI.Valsa
VII.Finale – Piruetas e Salto Mortal
Duration: 20’
The Quintet was commissioned by the Camerata Senza Misura with the objective of completing a program that would include Prokofiev’s Quintet, op. 39. The strange instrumental combination of oboe, clarinet, violin, viola and contrabass comes from op. 39 – a combination unique to the work by the Russian master, I believe. Curiously, Prokofiev, unlike composers such as Stravinsky, Milhaud, Villa Lobos, Martinu or Hindemith, is known, neither for eccentricity in his instrumental choices, nor for a particular penchant toward chamber music. The fact that my piece was commissioned to be played together with the Prokofiev quintet, as well as the fact that 2003 was the year of the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of that composer’s death, certainly influenced the atmosphere of my own piece. The Quintet functions like a suite of intertwined, contrasting numbers, each of a very different character (like Prokofiev’s quintet, a ballet written for a troupe of circus dancers). One of the movements even took the title of Prokofiev’s ballet (which was performed only once): Trapeze. An atmosphere between melancholy and burlesque reigns in this work, whose virtuosic instrumental writing shares affinities with the circus character of op. 39, as well as the acrobatics and pranks of a Petrushka…