lilac and orange over ivory (2020)
Orchestra [3333.4331.timp. +3perc.hp.cel/pno. strings]
Duration: 10.5’
Premiered by Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra and Larry Rachleff (cond.) at Stude Concert Hall, November 20 2021
Winner of the 2020 Paul and Christiane Cooper Prize
program note
I have long admired Mark Rothko’s color field paintings. Despite consisting of only a few zones of color, these works elicit visceral responses for me, almost as if speaking to the bottom of my soul. What most inspires me about Rothko’s work is the simplicity of his materials (using only 2-3 colors, for instance) and the scale at which he executes his works (nearly 7 feet wide and 10 feet tall!). Yet despite this apparent simplicity, the layers of color in his works often overlap in unpredictable ways, almost as if vibrating between various surface layers of paint. The transitional zones in his paintings are precious, liminal spaces where one color fades out and another fades in. Or perhaps, the two colors come into conflict; the closer you get to the painting, the more action becomes apparent to the eye.
My piece Lilac and Orange over Ivory draws its title from a Rothko painting of the same name, and is largely inspired by the manner in which color occupies a formal role in his work. I wanted to explore musical material in a manner akin to Rothko’s structural treatment of color. But rather than swimming through color for 10 minutes, I was interested in spinning together a forward-moving narrative over the course of three smaller, overlapping musical chapters.
I am endlessly grateful to the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra, Larry Rachleff, and Kaaren Fleisher for their incredible generosity and work on this piece, and to Karim Al-Zand and Kurt Stallmann for their guidance and mentorship during my time at Shepherd.