Violin Concerto No.2, ‘Narcissus’ (2019)

Date of composition: 2019; Duration: 20’00; Commissioning body: Francis Hornak; Premiere performance: 7 March 2020, The Red Hall, NFM Wroclaw, Poland; Premiere performers: Thomas Bowes/Joseph Swensen/The NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra; Publisher: Eleanor Alberga

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Eleanor’s second Violin Concerto is based on the Greek myth of Narcissus. She writes:

“The idea for a work based on the Greek myth of the unhappy Narcissus has been in my mind for some time. His predicament seems to represent something archetypal to our sense of ourselves and the human condition.

Broadly speaking the concerto is a longish poem – it lasts around 20 minutes and is cast in one movement with the solo violin as the principal character. The solo violin is present after the briefest of introductions and remains at the front of the narrative for almost the entire time. As well as divided strings the sound world features prominent parts for piano, harp, vibraphone with other solos from trumpet and woodwind.”

Instrumentation:

1(picc).0.1(bcl).0/0.1.0.0/ timp.perc(1)/hp.pf/str + vn solo

Percussion: 

Vibraphone, suspended cymbal, tambourine, temple blocks, wind chimes, bass drum, tam-tam