All good things come in threes
Once again, composer, pianist and conductor Graham Fitkin receives the prestigious British Composer Award. For the third time now, he convinced the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers & Authors: this time in the orchestra category with his Recorder Concerto, premiered in 2017 by the BBC Now and soloist Sophie Westbrooke. On 19 May 2019, the winning piece will receive its US premiere at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center.
Recorder Concerto (2017)
rec - 3.3.3.3 - 4.3.3.1 - timp.2perc - str
Duration: 20'
26.05.2017, Cardiff (WP)
Sophie Westbrooke and BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Tecwyn Evans
Listen to a snippet
Press Review of the WP
Graham Fitkin’s new Recorder Concerto was written for Sophie Westbrooke – winner of the woodwind category in the 2014 BBC Young Musician competition – and spotlights her virtuosic technique. It’s unusual because it was conceived not for a single instrument, but for multiple amplified recorders, ranging from grand bass up to the tiniest sopranino, a contemporary take on the 16th-century consort of recorders. Literally, a concerted effort.
The single-movement work begins by alternating the moody tones of the two lowest-pitched recorders before progressing to the higher-pitched ones; Fitkin correspondingly raised the temperature and pace as his jazzy signature style kicked in. Westbrooke made the transitions from one instrument to the other appear effortless and, thanks to the amplification and Fitkin’s nifty sound-profiling, she was never overpowered by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, even in their moments of big-band mode. Niche repertoire perhaps, but a thoroughly appealing work.
The Guardian, 30.05.2017
Score of Recorder Concerto