Symphony No. 1 (1998)
(Four Essays on the Passing of Time)

Symphony No.1 – Four Essays on the Passing of Time (1998) 

i. 90 Minutes Circling the Earth
ii. 4 Minutes in a Nuclear Bunker
iii. Moments of Falling
iv. 4 Hours in a Holding Pattern

This symphony is comprised of works written in the late 1990’s for different orchestral forces, grouped together due to their programmatic connection. While I did not set out to write a symphony, in hindsight, the grouping and musical arc became clear.

90 Minutes is the time it takes a space shuttle to circumnavigate Earth. This first movement is inspired by observations made by astronauts and cosmonauts regarding what Earth looks like from space. The movement takes around 5 minutes to represent a 90-minute space flight that visually encompasses a full 24-hour cycle on Earth from night to sunrise, day to sunset and back again to night. It is dedicated to my niece, Megan Diplock.

4 Minutes in a Nuclear Bunker is dedicated to English novelist, Martin Amis. Living under the possibility of nuclear holocaust is a theme of his work. I wanted to depict a scenario in music where news emerges of a nuclear missile launch. Panic spreads. Some find their way into a bunker. It is damp, cold, claustrophobic and then quiet. The head begins to hum in anticipation and continues to build and distort until there is a blinding flash, visible through a narrow protected screen. The waiting is over. But what is left? What is it like up on the surface? I imagine distant songs of children in unrelated time and key.

Moments of Falling is dedicated to Estonian composer Arvo Pärt – particularly in respect to his Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten (1977/1980). I attempted a similar canonic structure for strings but in triple time, incorporating a phasing technique borrowed from Steve Reich. The title refers to a play, Atlanta, by Joanna Murray–Smith that describes ‘moments of falling’ – what it must be like to walk through glass and come out the other side.

Contrary to visions of a delayed landing approach from hell, 4 Hours in a Holding Pattern actually refers to a uniquely wonderful flight from St. Petersburg to London. Taking off at sunset, the plane impossibly follows the sun and lands four hours later, still in sunset. A dark horizon of deep orange, red and purple lasting as long as the fully staged version of Tristan und Isolde is something I may never experience again. This final movement is dedicated to my teacher and colleague, composer Brenton Broadstock.

The first performance of the complete symphony was given by the Krasnoyask Philharmonic (Russia) conducted by Andrew Wheeler on 22 March 1999.

Stuart Greenbaum