Javelin

Composer: TORKE, Michael
  • Commissioned in 1994 by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympics in celebration of Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s 50th Anniversary, Javelin has become one of Torke’s most frequently performed works.1
  • The piece for orchestra premiered with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra conducted by Yoel Levi.
  • Torke wrote the following program note for the piece:

I had three goals for this Atlanta Symphony’s anniversary piece: I wanted to use the orchestra as a virtuosic instrument, I wanted to use triads (three-note tonal chords), and I wanted the music to be thematic. I knew I would welcome swifter changes of mood than what is found in my earlier music. What came out (somewhat unexpectedly) was a sense of valor among short flashes and sweeps that reminded me of something in flight: a light spear thrown, perhaps, but not in the sense of a weapon, more in the spirit of a competition. When the word javelin suddenly suggested itself, I couldn’t help but recall the 1970s model of sports car my Dad owned, identified by that name, but I concluded, why not? Even that association isn’t so far off from the general feeling of the piece. Its fast tempo calls for 591 measures to evoke the generally uplifting, sometimes courageous, yet playful spirit.2

Sources

  1. “Michael Torke: Biography,” Boosey & Hawkes, accessed October 14, 2022, https://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/composer/composer_main?composerid=2845&ttype=BIOGRAPHY.
  2. Michael Torke, “Javelin,” Michael Torke, accessed October 14, 2022, https://michael-torke.squarespace.com/javelin.

Cut IDs

20326