top of page
1955_6.jpg

DE KOONING MOVEMENTS [2001]

[marimba, clarinet]

​

Commissioned by the Kobe Shinbun Arts Foundation for Makoto Nakura

Premiered October 11, 2001. Matsukata Hall, Japan.

Makoto Nakura, marimba; Todd Palmer, clarinet.

DURATION: 8'

​

Program note:

Lately, I have been looking at the work of Willem de Kooning, who came to the United States from his native Holland to later become one of America's most representative twentieth-century artists. I have always been impressed by the brutality, the energy, the dynamic forms, and the synthetic power of de Kooning's work, and have now composed a piece that, through its exploration of the dramatic power of rhythm and bold instrumental gestures, seems to conjure for me the experience of flipping through the pages of a printed catalogue of de Kooning's paintings. A journey that allows me to savor with each stop a graphic, perfectly assimilated and electric concoction of Matisse, Picasso, German Expressionism, Abstract Expressionism, and total abstraction. © 2002, Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez

-

Two pieces from Manuel de Falla's "El Amor Brujo," accented by Palmer's bright clarinet, were standouts, but the program's highlight was "De Kooning Movements," composed in 2001 by Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez for Nakura and Palmer. Competing lines for clarinet and marimba darted across each other in sharp counterpoint and hiccups of sound that ended in a raucous shriek. Every note of it aptly suggested the painter's controversial style.

L. Peat O'Neil © 2003 The Washington Post Company

PURCHASE SCORE AND PARTS

Sample score

Purchases: I use Paypal for online transactions.
Printed scores are wire-bound, printed on durable, 28lb paper, and shipped by US mail, unless requested otherwise.
Price listed includes S/H costs (US mail only) up to five items.
PDF sets of parts are delivered by e-mail immediately upon reciept of payment notification by Paypal (normally 1-2 days) and include a license to print an unlimited number of copies for the ensemble making the purchase.
Questions, special requests, ordering more than five items? Please contact me at carlossg[at]esm[dot]rochester[dot]edu

bottom of page