Winter Gusts

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Orchestration: 1.1.1.1/1.1.1.1/1perc/str(3.2.1.1)

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Duration: 6 mins

 

The opening of Winter Gusts imagines - through fragments of bucolic chorales - a still landscape, periodically awakened by gusts of wind (heard as busy ascending lines in the woodwind). These "gusts" gradually lead to a playful toccata which is broken up by short, waltz-like interludes: the wind dancing, if you like. In the third and final section of the piece, the stillness of the opening is regained although the bucolic material is now more impassioned. Following a brief climax the music comes to rest before another rapid "gust" closes the work.

 

Winter Gusts was premiered by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra's Alchemy ensemble, conducted by Peter Wiegold in the New Auditorium of the RSNO Centre on 16th January 2016.