Homenaje a Oscar Wilde / Homage to Oscar Wilde (Four children's tales)

For Orchestra


Commentary
Review
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Commentary

Originally composed for string quartet in Puerto de Mazarrón during the summer of 1997, and transcribed in 2004 for string orchestra to conmemorate the 20th anniversary of the "Reina Sofía" Orchestra, this version for symphonic orchestra faithfully adapts to the pedagogical character of the original work, conceived both technically and musically within the appropriate difficulties for an intermediate level of chamber music education, to which I have dedicated an important part of my production in recent years.
This Homage to Oscar Wilde consists of four movements of highly contrasting character. The first three are titled after Wilde's tales: thus, the first is titled The Selfish Giant, the second The Nightingale and the Rose, and the third The Canterville Ghost. The set is completed with a fourth tale, whose title itself is a formal statement of intent regarding the previous three: The Selfish Nightingale of Canterville. The same conceptual play reflected in the title inspires the entire composition of the piece, from the first to the last note: the three previous movements have been fragmented and subsequently assembled in strict order, resulting in continuous changes of tempo and character, in a piece that also seeks to approach the humor and irony of the brilliant English writer.
Within the enormous simplicity of its approach and the friendliness of its listening experience, I must confess here that the Homage to Oscar Wilde has been the work that has posed the greatest technical and musical challenges for me, as the last movement needed to make global sense had to be composed simultaneously with the other three, which in turn had to have their own independent sense, with continuous comings and goings, reconsiderations, and modifications throughout the composition process.
This version for symphonic orchestra of the Homage to Oscar Wilde is dedicated to Pilar Sanz, and was made in February 2013, being premiered by the City of Córdoba Orchestra, conducted by José Luis Temes, on April 4 of that same year.

Review

The charm of Ara Malikian
By Antonio Torralba
(Review published in the newspaper El Día de Córdoba. Córdoba, April 6, 2013)

A highly interesting concert was offered by our orchestra as the eighth event in its current subscription season. The attractions lay in the novelty of the repertoire and, of course, in the musical personality of the guest soloist: the Lebanese violinist Ara Malikian. He did not disappoint in the least in his three appearances -four, if we count the charming explanation before the encore, a presentation full of modesty, humor, and naturalness.
Malikian's first appearance was in José Luis Turina's concerto, with the composer himself present in the hall, sharing with the performers the prolonged applause at the end of the piece. The soloist, who recorded the work with the Córdoba Orchestra and Temes in 2009, displayed absolute mastery over its difficulties and knew how to draw expressive value from all the emotional atmospheres to which this virtuosic work subjects the violin. He shone even more in Arbós's concert pieces, although the orchestra did not quite manage to match its level in terms of strength and rhythmic precision. As in the brilliant encore (an eclectic, improvisatory piece of his own), Malikian displayed a beautiful sound, a technique full of naturalness, and a captivating expressive force.
The other appeal of the evening lay, as mentioned, in the novelty of the program: two works (Turina's concerto and Arbós's Bolero) were entering the repertoire of the Córdoba Orchestra for the first time; and the orchestral version of Turina's Homenaje a Oscar Wilde was a world premiere. Among these works, the one of greatest substance is the aforementioned Violin Concerto, a work of very solid craftsmanship, full of originality and expressive discoveries, which was very well executed by all the performers, with special mention to the percussion section, always a reliable asset of our orchestra. The latter, as already noted, was somewhat less fortunate in the second half. The pieces by Fernández Arbós on the program rely greatly on rhythmic flair, and this aspect was, in my view, not entirely well handled by the Córdoba ensemble and its conductor for the occasion.
The charming work that opened the evening, Homenaje a Oscar Wilde, deserves a special mention. A modestly conceived piece, but very well composed in its four interrelated movements. Originally written for string quartet in 1997, it was adapted by the composer for string orchestra in 2004 and for symphony orchestra in 2013. It was this freshly completed version that the Córdoba Orchestra rendered splendidly last Thursday.

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(Score and parts without watermarks available at www.asesores-musicales.com )