• Nico Muhly
  • Drones and Viola (2011)

  • St. Rose Music Publishing (World)
  • va, pf
  • 14 min

Programme Note

The drones for Drones and Viola can be augmented by any combination of other instruments. One successful version of this involved the pianist and violist centre stage, with a small ensemble of melodicas, violins, and synthesizers sitting on the floor, playing unamplified. It is crucial that the drones sit slightly below the piano and viola in volume. Additionally, while the drones should rise and fall in volume subtly and randomly, after the fashion of distant clouds, they should never follow the dynamics of the primary instruments. It is also entirely possible and somewhat desirable to have the drones for the first movement start, if it is convenient or sensible, long before the concert begins, as the audience enters, or during an interval. N.M.

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