related works

In Unison : Concerto for two pianos and orchestra / Joey Roukens

Genre: Orchestra
Subgenre: Piano and orchestra
Scoring: 2pf-solo picc 2fl 3ob 2cl cl-b 2fg cfg 4h 3tpt 3trb timp 3perc cel str

Box : for 14 musicians / Geoff Hannan

Genre: Orchestra
Subgenre: Large ensemble (12 or more players)
Scoring: fl/picc ob cl fg h tpt trb-b xyl pf 2n vla vc db

Fors geschapen : voor blazers en strijkers, 1986 / Chiel Meijering

Genre: Orchestra
Subgenre: Large ensemble (12 or more players)
Scoring: 3222 sax-a 2210 2vl vla vc cb

First floor : for wind instruments, 2 double basses, piano and percussion, 1989 / Maarten Altena

Genre: Orchestra
Subgenre: Large ensemble (12 or more players)
Scoring: 2222 2220 perc pf 2cb

composition

Boundless (Homage to L.B.) : for string orchestra, harp, keyboards and percussion / Joey Roukens

Other authors:
Roukens, Joey (Composer)
Description:
Boundless was commissioned by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, who requested a homage to Leonard Bernstein (anticipating the centennial of the great composer/conductor’s birth) that could be programmed alongside L.B.’s Serenade for solo violin, strings, harp and percussion. As I have always admired L.B. ever since I watched the film West Side Story when I was 9 or so, I agreed to write this piece.
The instrumentation is basically the same as that of the Serenade, but without the solo violin and with the addition of a keyboard player on celesta and synthesizer. The work is a kind of mini-symphony in three short movements (fast, slow, fast) played attacca (i.e., without breaks). It directly references material from two little piano pieces by L.B.: Nos. 5 and 13 from his last (1988) cycle of Anniversaries - little piano pieces L.B. wrote throughout his life and which he would often pick up and expand in other, larger works, most notably in his Serenade. In my piece, however, the music often moves quite far from the source material, so that most of the time, it is no longer recognizable.
The first movement (Manically) is ceaselessly energetic, exuberant and explosive and should be performed with an over-the-top kind of energy, almost as if the music sounds “too fast”at times. The second movement (Glacially) is a small Adagio, chorale-like, with slowly morphing harmonies; much of its material is derived from No. 13, a slow, little waltz, even though the waltz cannot be recognized until the end of the movement, when it appears as a fleeting reminiscence, sounding as if played by a little music box. The last movement (Propulsively) is fast and motoric, with pulsating, syncopated rhythms which should be performed as tightly as possible. There are strong hints of popular music (rock, techno, jazz) in this movement - one thing I’ve always admired about Bernstein’s music is the naturalness with which he incorporated elements of popular music in his concert works - and it eventually builds up to a relentless, frenzied ending.
Leonard Bernstein was a man of boundless energy and boundless musical interests. I have tried to write a piece which captures some of that “boundlessness” (in a good way, I hope…).
Joey Roukens