Burning Sled

for horn, with winds and strings (1996)

Instrumentation: 1.1.1(=ssax).1-0.0.0.0-str (solo quintet or sections). Duration: 17 minutes. The Concerto for Horn, with Winds and Strings consists of five movements which surround the central one, 'Midnight,' in the manner of concentric parenthesese. Reading the movement titles in order (Nightfall, Serenade, Midnight, Aubade, and then Daybreak) reveals the composer's program. Hagen writes, 'The piece is a sort of overnight symposium during which three characters -- the horn, the winds, and the strings -- take turns presenting their personal stories.' The concerto was composed during a residency at the Rockefeller's Villa Serbelloni, in Bellagio, Italy during the Autumn of 1993. Completed on 13 November 1993, the work was set aside until 1 November 1996, when it was premiered by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Soren Hermannsson, horn soloist, conducted by Music Director David Crosby, at the First Congregational Church of Madison, Wisconsin. Learn more>>>