CITISCAPE LIGHTS CONCERTO FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA

CITISCAPE LIGHTS CONCERTO FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA

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Scoring & Instrumentation
piano solo, orchestra
solo piano, 2(dbl pic)2(eh)22 - 423(btbn)1 timp perc (3 or 4) strings
Alternate Title
Citiscape Piano Concerto
Year Authored (or revised)
Duration (min)
25
Movements

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Files & Media

Audio
adams piano conc I Reber 1976 excerpt.mp3
Audio file
adams piano conc II excerpt.mp3
Audio file
adams piano conc III excerpt.mp3
Audio file
Video

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Sample Pages

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Detail

Description

Concerto for Piano (1968) was revised by the composer and edited by the composer and Mark Thome for publication in 2024 as Citiscape Lights.

The piano concerto was composed in an idiom which treats jazz rhythms in a symphonic format. In the first movement, a perpetual motion pulsates in the piano part.  A second theme in a more lyrical vein is first introduced by the winds and later elaborated in the piano part.  The two themes are recapitulated until the piano takes the field with an extended cadenza in which the motor action of the first theme prevails.  The orchestra reenters with a triumphant restatement of the lyrical theme. 

Several instruments in the orchestra share the spotlight with the piano in the slow movement which is purely melodious and wistful. There follows without a pause a rhythmical introduction to the third movement in which jazz characteristics are even more dominant an in which cross rhythms abound.  In the contrasting middle section, the jazz elements become more discreet but never disappear.  A somewhat abbreviated recapitulation leads to a terse coda consisting of a few bars of hesitation and a few more of exuberance - a question mark and an exclamation point juxtaposed. The preparation of Citiscape was made possible in part by a grant from the University of Kansas General Research Fund.

 

Comments

based on 1968 Concerto for Piano and Orchestra;

The 2024 edition of Citiscape Lights Concerto for Piano and Orchestra by H. Leslie Adams was made with reference to several earlier documents, including scores from pianist Richard Reber, who gave the premiere in 1976, the composer's own expanded and revised versions from the 1980s, a set of engraved files done by a copyist in 2005 but never fully completed, versions from the ACA archives, and in consultations with the composer during 2020-21. The editor of the 2024 edition, Mark Thome, has an extensive composing/arranging background in jazz and popular music. He addressed ambiguities in the various versions and worked closely with the composer to resolve notational issues, phrasing marks, and balance, with instructions provided by the composer, with the goal of highlighting the sound of the piano more clearly in the textures.

It is ACA's great privilege to offer this new score to the world on behalf of the wonderful composer and pianist Dr. H. Leslie Adams.

 

ISMN 979-0-60023-015-0

Note:
Percussion 1:  Snare Drum, Mark Tree, Shaker
Percussion 2:  Suspended Cymbal, Tambourine, Triangle, Crash Cymbals, Tam-tam
Percussion 3:  Xylophone, Bells, Wood Block, Vibraphone, Marimba

First Perfomance
March 7, 1976 University of Kansas Symphony Orchestra; Richard Reber, piano
Recording

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Text Language - Non English

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Text Source/Author

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Title Number
Ensemble Type
solo instrument(s) featured+large ens or orch concertos
orchestra
concerto
featured soloist
Genre/Theme
Music by BIPOC - AALANA composers
Instrument
piano
Purchase Options
PDF License & Download
PDF Price
Print & Ship
$165.00 full score
ACA-ADHL-028
parts on rental