Robert Hughes

flute, clarinet, basson, horn

Program Note

Music by Robert Hughes and Lou Harrison

            Co-composed in 1964, the two-minute Ritmicas is a double music for flute, clarinet,
bassoon and horn. While the ‘double’ refers to the co-composition, it can also point to the musical interest of this ritmicas, the two rhythmic meters – 2/2 and 3/2 – played
simultaneously.

            As indicated by the subtitle, written in Esperanto, it is an homage to the Cuban composer Amadeo Rold y Gardes (1900–1939), who had written four Ritmicas for winds and piano in 1930. Hughes composed the parts for flute and horn, and Harrison composed the parts for clarinet and bassoon. The work certainly emerged from Harrison’s lessons for Hughes, as the interest in both Esperanto and exposure to Roldán’s music originated with Harrison. Originally a quintet, the work remained unplayed until the 1990s when Hughes premiered it as a wind quartet while touring with the ensemble on an Alaskan cruise ship.