PREMIERE RECORDING: Suite from a Non-Existent Ballet
The nonesuch.reedquintet has issued a new recording of my reed quintet Suite from a Non-Existing Ballet
Over the spring and summer, the Eugene, OR-based nonesuch.reedquintet was working away hard on a call for scores, recording and ushering new music into the world. I was fortunate enough to have two of my new works for reed quintet on their stand. I shared a few of my favorite moments from their work a couple weeks back. Today, I want to share the full recording of their rendering of my Suite from a Non-Existent Ballet.
What I enjoy about nonesuch’s work in particular is all the character, nuance, and life they find in the music they play. Take just this vivid performance of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue they gave earlier this month:
In the case of Suite from a Non-Existent Ballet, they apply a similar energy and needed theatricality, making the drama dance off of the page with conviction, giving each musical character (I. Villain, II. Hero, III. Sidekick) their own distinct flavor, setting up the tension that makes their coming together (IV. Conflict) particularly compelling and devastating.
I’ll stop talking for a bit and let their playing speak for itself:
You can now find the score and parts for Suite from a Non-Existent Ballet for purchase at my website, along with the full program notes. In short, this piece is me tilting my hat to the music that powers the great ballets by Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev, creating my own character-driven music without an explicit plot, for the joy of it. The reed quintet is the ideal vehicle for fabricating story out of nearly nothing, given it’s the most characterful instrumental family—as a saxophonist, this view is, of course, entirely unbiased ; ).
nonesuch’s recording mounts a powerful case for continuing to build out this imaginary story world, adding new characters, set pieces, and scenes - constructing a ballet backwards, from a suite and a few archetypal characters to a more fully formed sonic dramatic arc.
While writing up this entry and listening to their recording, I was motivated to sketch out a new short movement that very much seems to live in the same world as Suite from a Non-Existent Ballet:
Perhaps a second suite is forthcoming…
There’s some precedent for multiple concert pieces derived from a single original work: Prokofiev’s ballet score for Romeo and Juliet has at least three different concert suites assembled by the composer, excerpted from the full ballet. In programming, music directors often assemble their own concert suites by picking and choosing then mixing and matching movements between the three Prokofiev-approved ones.
Another thing I’ve begun toying with is bringing this music to larger ensembles; it’s been fun to start an arrangement for wind band:
Keep up with nonesuch.reedquintet, a vibrant new ensemble in the Eugene, OR area. Their recording of Suite from a Non-Existent Ballet came to be thanks to their inaugural Call for Scores project as they pull together engaging new repertoire for a six-week tour of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam in summer 2025.
