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Chris Brubeck (b. 1952)
Affinity: Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra
Composed: 2015
Premiered: 2015, Maryland
Duration: 16 minutes

I have been collaborating for many months with the excellent guitarist Daniel Bolshoy, as he will be the first guitarist to play this concerto other than the commissioning artist – Sharon Isbin. She toured and recorded collaborations in a variety of genres, including classical, jazz, rock, folk, Indian, and Brazilian. My eclectic background as a performer and composer served to provide Sharon with the wide-ranging musical influences she loves to explore.

She wanted a concerto that had a global approach to the guitar and wasn't confined to one particular style. That also fits Daniel’s interest in various styles of music. You will hear those tastes realized in how I approached the creation of Affinity: Concerto for Guitar & Orchestra. I struggled to find a title for the piece, and thankfully my wife, Tish, came up with this appropriate name. In plain English, Sharon and I shared an affinity for embracing and exploring different musical styles. As I learned from watching the PBS special about Sharon's remarkable career, she wanted to be a scientist as a young girl. With that in mind, I wanted to include in these notes the scientific definition of affinity: An attraction or force between particles that causes them to combine.

This is an appropriate description of the concerto, as many genres are combined to create this 16-minute piece. There are no separate movements – instead there are simply flowing, contrasting musical areas that I chose to explore. This concerto jumps out of the starting gate with the energy of a downhill ski race. Daniel has great facility on his instrument, and the piece will feature him with fingers flying from the first measure. After a few minutes, the piece travels into an early jazz style with syncopated rhythms that harken back to ragtime. Then, the music transforms into a romantic waltz with oceanic qualities.

In the middle of this concerto, there is a very heartfelt section that evolved from a suggestion by Sharon. She knew that my father had recently passed on and that he and I were very close and frequently wrote music together over the years. She called me from New York and sensitively asked if there were any melodies my father had written that were particularly "guitaristic." She thought it would be wonderful to honour him by including some of his musical spirit in this piece. While speaking with Sharon, I was composing in the Connecticut studio where my father and I had created so much music together over the course of our lives. It was October, and gazing out a window overlooking a stream surrounded by glorious old trees, I saw the wind spin a few golden leaves off their branches and they lazily circled down to the water. I told Sharon that I had just seen something that reminded me of a beautiful melody my father had written, Autumn in Our Town, which described this time of year. A few days later, I sent her the realization of this theme presented as a guitar feature enveloped by the orchestra. Midway through, there is a modulation while the guitar tunes its lowest string down to a low D which facilitates an even deeper and more soulful interpretation.

I wanted to follow this adagio area by writing a completely contrasting section in a major key, which I was imagining as a kind of neo-Renaissance dance in 6/8. The music gracefully makes its way into more complicated time signatures, alternating a bar of 7/8 with a bar of 3/4. A different groove is established with a new section in a fast 5/8 time signature that conveys the energy of a Brazilian samba. The guitar solo takes off over the propulsive rhythm and climaxes into a technically demanding cadenza. Percussion emerges from the guitar's final cadence, and we are off to a Middle Eastern fantasy. The tempo accelerates and we land in a brief recapitulation and compressed version of the original theme. I felt it was appropriate to compose an ending that was filled with driving energy that would catapult us to the last chord.

Program note by the composer.

Chris Brubeck (b. 1952)
Affinity: Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra
Composed: 2015
Premiered: 2015, Maryland
Duration: 16 minutes

I have been collaborating for many months with the excellent guitarist Daniel Bolshoy, as he will be the first guitarist to play this concerto other than the commissioning artist – Sharon Isbin. She toured and recorded collaborations in a variety of genres, including classical, jazz, rock, folk, Indian, and Brazilian. My eclectic background as a performer and composer served to provide Sharon with the wide-ranging musical influences she loves to explore.

She wanted a concerto that had a global approach to the guitar and wasn't confined to one particular style. That also fits Daniel’s interest in various styles of music. You will hear those tastes realized in how I approached the creation of Affinity: Concerto for Guitar & Orchestra. I struggled to find a title for the piece, and thankfully my wife, Tish, came up with this appropriate name. In plain English, Sharon and I shared an affinity for embracing and exploring different musical styles. As I learned from watching the PBS special about Sharon's remarkable career, she wanted to be a scientist as a young girl. With that in mind, I wanted to include in these notes the scientific definition of affinity: An attraction or force between particles that causes them to combine.

This is an appropriate description of the concerto, as many genres are combined to create this 16-minute piece. There are no separate movements – instead there are simply flowing, contrasting musical areas that I chose to explore. This concerto jumps out of the starting gate with the energy of a downhill ski race. Daniel has great facility on his instrument, and the piece will feature him with fingers flying from the first measure. After a few minutes, the piece travels into an early jazz style with syncopated rhythms that harken back to ragtime. Then, the music transforms into a romantic waltz with oceanic qualities.

In the middle of this concerto, there is a very heartfelt section that evolved from a suggestion by Sharon. She knew that my father had recently passed on and that he and I were very close and frequently wrote music together over the years. She called me from New York and sensitively asked if there were any melodies my father had written that were particularly "guitaristic." She thought it would be wonderful to honour him by including some of his musical spirit in this piece. While speaking with Sharon, I was composing in the Connecticut studio where my father and I had created so much music together over the course of our lives. It was October, and gazing out a window overlooking a stream surrounded by glorious old trees, I saw the wind spin a few golden leaves off their branches and they lazily circled down to the water. I told Sharon that I had just seen something that reminded me of a beautiful melody my father had written, Autumn in Our Town, which described this time of year. A few days later, I sent her the realization of this theme presented as a guitar feature enveloped by the orchestra. Midway through, there is a modulation while the guitar tunes its lowest string down to a low D which facilitates an even deeper and more soulful interpretation.

I wanted to follow this adagio area by writing a completely contrasting section in a major key, which I was imagining as a kind of neo-Renaissance dance in 6/8. The music gracefully makes its way into more complicated time signatures, alternating a bar of 7/8 with a bar of 3/4. A different groove is established with a new section in a fast 5/8 time signature that conveys the energy of a Brazilian samba. The guitar solo takes off over the propulsive rhythm and climaxes into a technically demanding cadenza. Percussion emerges from the guitar's final cadence, and we are off to a Middle Eastern fantasy. The tempo accelerates and we land in a brief recapitulation and compressed version of the original theme. I felt it was appropriate to compose an ending that was filled with driving energy that would catapult us to the last chord.

Program note by the composer.