- Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra was commissioned by the Oregon Symphony in 1993 and is dedicated to percussionist Niel DePonte.
- Svoboda wrote the following about the work:
“It was the spring of 1992 when Niel DePonte… to whom this piece is dedicated, came to me and gave me the encouragement and inspiration to write a marimba concerto. Being a percussionist myself, I have dreamed of featuring this marvelous instrument with orchestral accompaniment for many years… The concerto took one year to compose and is the first concerto ever commissioned by the Oregon Symphony for one of its members.”
“My approach to this work is to expose the beauty of the marimba. The gentle and majestic sounds found in the instrumental mixture within the orchestra is always respectful of the somewhat limited powers of projection of the solo instrument. Overall the concerto is stylistically lyrical and neo-romantic.”1
Sources
- Essay in accompanying booklet, Orchestral Works by Tomas Svoboda performed by Niel DePonte and the Oregon Symphony conducted by James DePreist, Albany 604, 2000, compact disc.
Cut IDs
45966