1992/93 SYMBIOSIS for flute(s), bcl, tbn, pf, and string quintet

SYMBIOSIS (1993) for flute(s), bass clarinet, trombone, piano and string-quintet is an exercise in ensemble playing. To an increasing degree it also becomes an exercise in the shameless display of my personal musical baggage. This 40-minute piece flows through various stages of dead-serious meditation to outrageous provocation, pulling out all the stops in the emotional circus. There are 4 movements, the first of which features the string-quintet and the flute only. In subsequent movements the bass clarinet, the trombone and the piano join in respectively.

Symbiosis was a commission from the Barton Workshop, which gave its first performance in 1994. A year or two later Ensemble’88 followed with more performances.