Matthews, D.: Music of Dawn (The) / Concerto in Azurro / A Vision and A Journey

Featuring

Rumon Gamba
Guy Johnston
BBC Philharmonic
David Matthews

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Composition History

Concerto in Azzurro was commissioned by the BBC for cellist Steven Isserlis, who gave its premiere in October 2002 with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Composer's Artistic Vision

The Music of Dawn was inspired by a painting of the same name by Cecil Collins, a 20th-century painter whom David Matthews considered highly musical.

Composition History

The Music of Dawn was commissioned by Unilever for the Young Musicians' Symphony Orchestra and premiered in November 1990 at the Royal Festival Hall, London.

Composer's Artistic Vision

The title Concerto in Azzurro (Concerto in Blue) was inspired by the island of Lundy, which appeared suffused with blue to David Matthews, leading him to conceive the rest of the concerto as a journey towards that ultimate blueness.

Compositional Technique

In The Music of Dawn, David Matthews attempted to represent the sound of the sea breaking over a pebble beach by using percussion instruments like sizzle cymbal, caxixi, metal maracas, and rainstick.

Compositional Technique

In Concerto in Azzurro, David Matthews associates the key of B flat with the color blue, making it the tonal goal of the piece, which resolves an initial tritonal conflict with E minor.

Composer Biography

David Matthews, the composer, has written seven symphonies, four concertos, and four symphonic poems, which are large-scale orchestral works with extra-musical associations.