Electric Candlelight Concerto

Composer's Note:

The idea for a concerto with symphonic orchestra and electric guitar began with Maestro Kent Nagano. With my background in composing for the guitar he asked me if I would like to create a new work, and invited me to Montreal to listen to the Orchestre Symphonique in rehearsals and in performances of the Rite of Spring and Jeux. It was then in the fantastic new hall that I could imagine how an electric guitar concerto might sound with the orchestra.

The five movements of The Electric Candlelight Concerto were completed in 2017. Its title is a metaphor for the electrified guitar and how it radiates sound. The instrument has a power that creates new colors and energy when it is combined with traditional orchestral instruments, sounding at times like a single instrument.

The idea for the music, rather than using traditional concerto movement forms, has five “songs” performed as in a rock band set, replete with pauses for changes of guitars and re-tunings. The songs have fantastical titles, some with references, and evocative of what might be found in popular music forums. The language of the sounds is from the fourth world of music that is both global and digital in genre, and a descendant of the classical concerto.

I want to express my deep gratitude to Maestro Nagano, guitarist Steve Hill, and the musicians and the staff of the OSM for bringing this new work to the Montreal Symphony House.