Preferred symphony-orchestra version
2.2.2.3(cbn) / 4.2.3.1 / timp+3perc / hp / pno / strings
The bassoon section is 2 bassoons and a separate contrabassoon. The three trombones comprise 2 tenor trombones and bass trombone. Minimum strings in the published score: 10.8.6.6.4.
Original chamber-orchestra alternative
1.1.1.1 / 1.1.1.0 / 1perc / pno / strings (min. 1.1.1.1.1)
Flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, percussion, piano and strings. The original chamber-orchestra formation has 14 players with one player per string part.
Commissioned by the CUNY Contemporary Music Ensemble. Premiered May 8, 2013 at Elebash Hall, New York City, Whitney E. George conducting.
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Norwegian Radio Orchestra · Journeys
Scores & Performance Materials
Published symphony-orchestra score and rental information ↗︎
Program Note
In the field of materials science, the study of fracture mechanics makes a fundamental distinction between fractures that occur at different levels of tensile stress. In the case of brittle fracture, there is little or no apparent plastic deformation before failure occurs; in other words, cracks travel so fast that it is often impossible to tell when the material will break.
Brittle Fracture attempts to depict this type of structural failure in musical terms. Inspired by modulation and temporal manipulation techniques commonly employed in pop music production, the piece is based on a simple four-note piano theme that is performed as if it were being processed through an echo unit. The piano’s resulting spectral content is selectively captured, extended, and transformed by the orchestral instruments, effectuating a long-range rhythmic, melodic, registral, articulative, and dynamic intensification. Throughout this textural crescendo, the music undergoes various types and degrees of stress that attempt to disrupt the constant musical flow. At the peak of the process the music finally buckles under its own weight, causing an abrupt rupture in the structure. A series of these fractures occurs, slicing between two contrasting musical surfaces until the inevitable and complete dissolution of their constituent materials.
Performance History
Premiered June 7, 2014 by the American Composers Orchestra, George Manahan conducting, at the DiMenna Center, New York City, during the NY Philharmonic Biennial.
Awards & Recognition
- 2013 — SOCAN Foundation Sir Ernest MacMillan Award — Third Prize (original chamber-orchestra version).
- 2014 — American Composers Orchestra, Underwood New Music Readings / NY Philharmonic Biennial — Selected participant (expanded symphony-orchestra version).