Violin Concerto - Rhapsody "Reflections on China" - Violin & Orchestra - Opus 13 by Philip Calder

This is a single-movement, loosely constructed piece with many sonata-form characteristics. The quasi-exposition has three melodic systems, of which the first is lyrical, the second assertive and adventurous, and the third lyrical again—expansively and elaborately so. Each episode is given the opportunity to flourish and die away, before the succeeding phase begins. The piece has an extensive cadenza for the violin, which, unusually, occurs between the second and third melodic systems in the recapitulation. The third melodic system is then given an amplified and enriched treatment before the movement closes. The composer himself has this comment: "even though it can be seen as a type of large sonata form, I have nevertheless always thought of it as if in multiple movements which flow one into the other to form a larger unified whole." The performance here was recorded in Qingdao, China in November, 2002, with Calder playing the orchestral part on the piano and Shun Ping playing the violin solo part. The use of a piano to represent the orchestra necessarily results in a loss of color—the absence of brass instruments in the development phase is particularly regrettable—but both performers do their work with spirit and agility. Inquiries concerning scores and performance rights can be addressed to: Eric Henry, ehenry (at) email.unc.edu