related works
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Mixed ensemble (2-12 players)
Scoring:
fl/picc cl/cl-b h tpt hp pf 2vn vla vc db
Lacune : voor blazers, piano en contrabas, 1984 / Cees van Zeeland
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Large ensemble (12 or more players)
Scoring:
1020 sax-a(fl) 1330 pf cb
Apart met Katja : for ensemble / Chiel Meijering
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Large ensemble (12 or more players)
Scoring:
2fl cl 2sax 2h trp 2trb tb perc pf el-g el-b
Flowers : for chamber orchestra, 1986/87 / Burkhardt Söll
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Large ensemble (12 or more players)
Scoring:
1121 1111 2perc hp pf 2vl vla vc cb
composition
Brave cactus hits the road : for ensemble / Giel Vleggaar
Other authors:
Vleggaar, Giel
(Composer)
Description:
Program note (English): If a comic-strip cactus waking up one morning and deciding to strike out into the world seems ridiculous, then think of the characters in the books of the enigmatic novelist Tom Robbins. Indeed, it is the idea that inanimate objects can take on a life of their own, pack their bags and go is an image Vleggaar borrowed from the book Skinny legs and All, in which a can of beans, a painted branch and a large shell go on an adventure. "Brave Cactus Hits the Road is about liberation--after a big drama, to put the past behind you and strike out on a new trail. It might seem pretty insecure, but still offers a better perspective. It's an absurd image--a cactus going out into the world. Before you know it, he's run over by a car and that's the end of the cactus. But you've got to have guts, as a cactus. But I also want to bring out that it's also an amusing image, one which we can all relate to somehow from our own gut feeling." This is Vleggaar's description of a piece which motors along at high speeds backed by the horsepower of a big band. Destination: freedom, wherever it might be. - TERESA HRON