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        • Emily Howard

        • sphere (2017)
          (for orchestra)

        • Peters Edition Limited (World)

        Commissioned by Bamberg Symphoniker.

        First performed on 9th March 2017 by Bamberg Symphoniker, conducted by Alondra de la Parra, at Theater der Stadt, Schweinfurt, Germany

        • 2(II:pic).2.0+2bb-cl.2(II:cbn)/0+4f-hn.0+2bb-tpt.2+btbn.0/timp/str
        • 6 min

        Programme Note

        A short work for chamber orchestra, sphere (2017) is an exploration of its namesake shape. Rather than imagining a sphere as a static geometrical form, I chose to approach it from a more dynamic perspective. I envisioned myself travelling on the surface of a sphere – one complete revolution. And as my mind travelled around this imaginary shape, I encountered different soundscapes; in turn these became etchings in sound.

        sphere is one in a series of geometry-inspired works and forms an orchestral triptych with Torus (2016) and Antisphere (2019).

        Emily Howard, August 2023

         

        Media

        sphere recorded by BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Mark Wigglesworth (NMC)

        Scores

        Features

        • Curtain-Up | Concert Openers
          • Curtain-Up | Concert Openers
          • Explore engaging, creative, and captivating orchestral openers for your upcoming programs. Set the stage for memorable musical experiences after the curtain comes up.

        Reviews

        “Howard’s [music] pushes out boldly into outer space, where sound clusters spin to and fro, pitches melt into quarter tones, melodic debris flies by, and fortissimo upsets suddenly explode”

        Geoff Brown, The Times
        26th May 2023

        “charged with structural tension and packed with dramatic flourishes […] often edgy, even rugged in character […] energetic impact and imaginative breadth”

        Soundcheck, The Wire
        1st May 2023

        “Howard’s lyricism has led to marvellously uncanny results that take vast leaps in pitch and volume in their stride […] to compose sphere … Howard imagined travelling over the shape’s convex surface and encountering new landscapes. It is a spiralling work of fits and starts, with long pauses punctuated by bursts of brass and restless strings.

        Bethan Ackerley, New Scientist
        May 2023

        “an extraterrestrial interlude”

        Richard Whitehouse, Gramophone
        September 2021

        Discography

        Torus

        Torus
        • Label
          NMC Recordings
        • Catalogue Number
          NMC D274
        • Conductor
          Vimbayi Kaziboni / Mark Wigglesworth / Gabriella Teychenné / Martyn Brabbins
        • Ensemble
          BBC Philharmonic / BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Birmingham Contemporary Music Group / BBC Symphony Orchestra
        • Released
          28th April 2023