Three Moods for English Horn
and Orchestra
This is a piece where the English Horn serves as the narrator and chief participant in a larger composition. It is not a Concerto per say. The subject material came from Larry Oppenheim, the player for whom this piece was written. Mood 1. 'Isle of the Dead (painted by Arnold Boecklin). This movement is a musical commentary on the famous painting that also inspired Rachmaninoff's tone poem of the same name. 2. "Music" for Dmitri S. Based on the poem "Music" written for Shostakovitch in 1958 by Anna Akhmatova, considered Russia's greatest poet. 3. (Larry's) Dance Band Dreams III --The soloist having wearied of the serious nature of the piece up until this point decides to become the undisputed star of the rest of the composition. He imagines himself transported back in time to the famous night club Copacabana in New York City where he is the headliner in a Latin Jazz number. This is fine for a while until the orchestra realizes he won't stop playing and they conspire to make sure he does.
