On Willows and Birches, Concerto for Harp and Orchestra - now available for purchase!

[Jay 39,703]

A previously unreleased live recording of On Willows and Birches, Concerto for Harp and Orchestra written by Boston Pops Laureate Conductor John Williams for former BSO Principal Harpist Ann Hobson Pilot, is now available for purchase. The orchestral work was recorded live at Symphony Hall on October 3, 2009 and features the Boston Symphony Orchestra led by former BSO Assistant Conductor Shi-Yeon Sung. The recording is available in three digital formats: 320kbps MP3, AIFF High Definition Stereo, and WMA High Definition Stereo.

http://www.bso.org/bso/mods/content1.jsp?id=46200012

[nightscape94 966]

I didn't realize this work was only 15 minutes. I guess he didn't want the harp outstaying its welcome. A little harp goes a long way I suppose.

[Thor 8,485]

I think it's a wonderful piece. Length really doesn't matter. He says all he needs to say musically in that time.

[Miguel Andrade 1,381]

I think it's a wonderful piece. Length really doesn't matter. He says all he needs to say musically in that time.

I agree.

[crocodile 8,575]

I like the piece too.

Karol

[Hlao-roo 389]

Some boy too far from town to learn baseball,

Whose only play was what he found himself,

Summer or winter, and could play alone.

One by one he subdued his father's trees

By riding them down over and over again

Until he took the stiffness out of them,

And not one but hung limp, not one was left

For him to conquer. He learned all there was

To learn about not launching out too soon

And so not carrying the tree away

Clear to the ground. He always kept his poise

To the top branches, climbing carefully

With the same pains you use to fill a cup

Up to the brim, and even above the brim.

[MSM 126]

bought the digital recording from the BSO

[BLUMENKOHL 1,081]

...Bought it...my god is that download manager horrid.

[Thor 8,485]

It's also available on iTunes, FYI.

[Joe Brausam 221]

That's where I got mine.

[Incanus 5,818]

The Harp Concerto is an exceedingly beautiful work. Williams' own love of the instrument and his knowledge of Ann Hobson Pilot shine through very clearly.

The On Willows movement has an ethereal mysterious and contemplative mood that captures the initial inspiration of the Psalm 137, We hanged our harps upon the willows, quite eloquently. The shimmering, ruminating nature of the music is typical concert work Williams, the orchestration sparse, setting the harp in the spotlight right away. Particularly noteworthy are the velvety clarinet solos that often dance around the harp figures that ascend and descend, the composer offering the soloist ample opporturnity to showcase her mastery of the instrument. The solos are articulate and clear and cover nearly every imaginable technique. Williams builds the thematic material throughout the movement, the main idea consisting of shimmering motif more recognizable by technique than melodic content and almost as if produced by the wind wafting through harps suspended from the branches of a willow tree. The music is very atmospheric and serene almost dusky in hue, the harp offering glimmers of light to the warm twilight of clarinet and strings.

The On Birches movement in contrast is an energetic dance for the harp and orchestra, the instrument used here with expert skill as it sings out rapid melodies, bouncing along, swinging on the birches of Robert Frost's poem. The orchestra offers a more robust accompaniment in this movement but the harp remains the dazzling centerpiece, ever joyous and effervescent, driven by a motoric figure that is repeated throughout by the orchestra. The festive, playful mood continues until a luminous interlude explores in a calmer style the melodic idea of the movement, offering for a moment the soloist time to return to the ruminative mood of the previous movement. Rising and falling patterns so prevalent in the concerto are repeated, the dancing main idea of the movement slowed and reinterpreted with thoughtful delicacy. And as suddenly as the dance calmed down it begins again, this time backed by the full orchestra and the harp dances with it to an energetic finish.

This concerto has become one of my favourites. I love the two contrasting movements which both offer so different material, one ruminative and atmospheric, the other melodic, playful and festive.

[A24 4,596]

Well written, Incanus. I'm intrigued now. Which of the available formats has the best sound quality?

[Miguel Andrade 1,381]

Well written, Incanus. I'm intrigued now. Which of the available formats has the best sound quality?

I would guess WMA HD from the BSO site -- surely better than iTunes sold files.

[fommes 155]

Is this now unavailable for purchase in HD format?

[Miguel Andrade 1,381]

For some reason, BSO withdraw this one from their catalogue of releases. Even the press release is gone. I wonder what happened.

[Disco Stu 15,502]

I've been listening to this BSO recording a lot over this summer and I've really fallen in love with this piece.  It's up there with his greatest concert works!

 

The mystery and ambiguity of On Willows.  The playful mischief of On Birches.

 

Ahhh it's so good.

[Joni Wiljami 1,212]

Amazing piece of music.

[nightscape94 966]

I do like the dichotomy between the two movements.  Doesn't overstay its welcome.  Good piece of writing.

[Incanus 5,818]

An excellent piece. I like it that similar ideas made their way later to Quartet La Jolla.

[Miguel Andrade 1,381]

Actually, while Quartet La Jolla was premiered later, it was composed before the Harp Concerto.

[Incanus 5,818]

I stand corrected. The cross-pollination was the other way around then.

[Disco Stu 15,502]

4 hours ago, Miguel Andrade said:

Actually, while Quartet La Jolla was premiered later, it was composed before the Harp Concerto.

 

Didn't the La Jolla Quartet premiere something like 2 years after On Willows & Birches?  The La Jolla Summerfest folks sat on that for 2+ years?  Madness!  I'm not doubting you, it's just weird.

[Miguel Andrade 1,381]

Williams started working on the quartet years before the Harp Concerto. I would guess that the score of the quartet was ready maybe an year in advance of its premiere, and that would make the finish date of it's compositions posterior to the concerto. But I do recall reading somewhere that the quartet was used as a sort of training ground during the years of its composition.

I'll try to find some of that info and post it here with the correct sources.

[Incanus 5,818]

Here is the programme notes (found here at JWFan. La Jolla's own site doesn't seem to have it anymore)

Quote

A NOTE FROM THE COMPOSER:

The idea for the La Jolla Quartet resulted from a conversation that I had with Cho-Liang Lin at Tanglewood, after we had performed a Mozart concerto together. Cho-Liang, familiar to me for many years as a magnificent artist, delighted me when he told me of his music festival in beautiful La Jolla, California, and when he graciously asked if I would contribute a piece for his festival there. I was gratified and even flattered by his suggestion, and given the usual constraints of my work in film, I was especially grateful for the freedom that he offered in saying… “write for any combination of instruments you wish”… and so, I agreed to contribute what I could. The concept of a quartet comprised of violin, cello, clarinet and harp intrigued me, and so I set out to do a piece that would explore some of the interesting sonorities available in this seldom-heard instrumentation.

 

The work is in five movements, beginning with an Introduction, which presents declamatory gestures framing some of the contextual parameters of volume, texture and color that we’re about to hear. The second movement, Aubade, explores the harp’s very unique role as the spiritual center and life-enhancing force of the entire piece. The Scherzo is a brief and gossamer flight where the quartet defies gravity as it dips, dives and soars… hopefully without ever touching the ground! The fourth movement, Cantando, gives the clarinet the opportunity to reflect and ruminate to the accompaniment of a steady cello pizzicato, and leads the journey of exploration, finishing with a brief cadenza. And finally in the fifth movement, Finale, the entire group… con brio… collects and gathers its energy to produce a forceful and uplifting finale.

 

Without the constraints of any programmatic scheme, numerical formulations or procedures, writing this piece was a joy for me. I simply relished the pleasure of exploring the instrumental possibilities that would allow four magnificent artists to display their art.

I have dedicated the entire work to my friend Cho-Liang Lin. However… for the second movement, I wish to acknowledge my debt to harpist Ann Hobson Pilot, who was the inspiration for my Harp Concerto, and who was something of a spiritual guide as I worked on the Aubade movement, which reflects some of my research and preparatory work on the concerto.

 

Also I have to mention the great clarinetist John Bruce Yeh, whose work in the Chicago Symphony I’ve greatly admired. When John learned that I was writing this piece, he encouraged me to finish it, and when I was told that he was a frequent guest at SummerFest I decided to write the fourth movement, Cantando, expressly for him. Of course, my greatest thanks and deepest indebtedness go to Cho-Liang Lin for having conceived this project, which I hope in some small measure, might reward listeners and players alike.

– John Williams

 

Here is also a short interview with Cho-Liang Lin concerning John Williams:

 

[Miguel Andrade 1,381]

57 minutes ago, Incanus said:

which reflects some of my research and preparatory work on the concerto.

 

Ok, that was what I was thinking of