• Missy Mazzoli
  • Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres) (2013)

  • G Schirmer Inc (World)

Revised 2021. Harmonicas are pitched in A and C (Bassoons), A (Horns), C (Trumpets), and F (Trombones). Harmonica notation is approximate; players should simply blow into the instrument unless otherwise indicated, taking care to play in approximately the same octave as the other harmonica players. Recorded electronics: locate the speaker(s) behind the percussion at the back of the stage. Playback should be loud enough to reach the back of the hall yet balance with the orchestra.

  • 2.2.2.2(2hca)/2(2hca).2(2hca).2(2hca).1/2perc/pf(syn)/recording/str
  • 9 min
    • 22nd April 2023, Merit School of Music Gottlieb Hall, Chicago , IL, United States of America
    • 24th May 2023, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester , United Kingdom
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Programme Note

Composer note
Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres) is music in the shape of a solar system, a collection of rococo loops that twist around each other within a larger orbit. The word “sinfonia” refers to baroque works for chamber orchestra but also to the old Italian term for a hurdy-gurdy, a medieval stringed instrument with constant, wheezing drones that are cranked out under melodies played on an attached keyboard. It’s a piece that churns and roils, that inches close to the listener only to leap away at breakneck speed, in the process transforming the ensemble turns into a makeshift hurdy-gurdy, flung recklessly into space. Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres) was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

— Missy Mazzoli

Media

BBC Proms (clip)
Stony Brook Symphony

Scores

Reviews

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