Concertino

Program Note by Warren Benson: “Contrast defines the Concertino. From a simple beginning, each of the solo flute sections builds to a free virtuosic statement against the rather stark, dramatic background of insistent, distant percussion pulsing. The alternating full ensemble sections are bound together by a set of four variations which treat the dancy or lyrical aspects of the material. They recur two times in various additional disguises, making twelve in all - divided unevenly into three groups. The contemplative closing variation is characterized by a slowly rocking viola motive over which the solo flute weaves the final echoes of the lyric voice before moving to its final soliloquy. Commissioned by Flute virtuosa Bonita Boyd, the work was completed in 1983 and had its premiere in Los Angeles in December of that year.”