Aguila - Broken Rondo

Miguel del Aguila

Broken Rondo for English Horn and Chamber Orchestra

Reduction for English Horn and Piano

After studies in his native Montevideo and graduation from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Miguel del Aguila (b. 1957) studied in Vienna at the Hochschule für Musik and the Konservatorium, while also working as a pianist at the Vienna State Opera. Also a conductor and teacher of music, Miguel del Aguila can claim an uncommon all-round musical expertise. In 1987 Peermusic Classical published his first works, eventually incorporating most of del Aguila’s works to their catalogue. American audiences embraced del Aguila’s music in 1988 as he introduced his piano works at New York’s Carnegie Recital Hall, and, days later, Lukas Foss premiered his Hexen with the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra. KKM-Austria and Albany Records NY took notice, releasing five of his works in two CDs in 1990.

During the 1990’s del Aguila’s list of works grew, as did the number of his recordings, performances and honors, which by 1995 included the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award.

Performances at Lincoln Center, the Royal Opera House, and in Moscow, Vienna, Zurich, Budapest, Prague, Tokyo, Rome, and other capitals began a decade of expansion and growth. After residing in Vienna for ten years, Aguila returned to the United States in 1992, making his home in Southern California. Before long, Los Angeles Times critics welcomed him as "One of the West Coast's most promising and enterprising young composers." During this time he founded and directed the young musicians’ group Voices (which provided free instruction, concerts and premieres), and was music director of Ojai Camerata (1995-1999).

From 2001 to 2004 del Aguila was Resident Composer at the Chautauqua Music Festival, where he performed as pianist, contributed new works, and wrote concert reviews. In 2005 he accepted a two-year Composer in Residence position with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, through a Meet The Composer/Music Alive Award. This marked the start of an intensively creative period that culminated with the fully-staged premiere of his third opera Time and Again Barelas, commemorating the tricentennial of the city of Albuquerque. He was honored with the Meet the Composer Magnum Opus/Kathryn Gould Award in 2008, resulting in the orchestral tone poem The Fall of Cuzco, performed by the Nashville Symphony, The Buffalo Philharmonic, The Virginia Symphony, and the Winnipeg Symphony. He received the Lancaster Symphony Composer of the Year Award 2009, as well as awards from The Copland Foundation and the Argosy Foundation for Contemporary Music.

Del Aguila’s catalog encompasses over one hundred works in all genres and is available on more than 20 CDs, released by Bridge, Dorian, Telarc, New Albion, Albany, and Centaur, among others. In 2010 del Aguila was honored with two Latin Grammy nominations, for the CD Salón Buenos Aires (five chamber ensemble works on Bridge Records) and for the composition Clocks from that recording.

For further information: http://migueldelaguila.com www.peermusicClassical.com

Broken Rondo is a one-movement English horn concerto. The work begins with a slow introduction where the English horn, accompanied by the strings and clarinet, sings quasifree cadenzas and arabesques, setting a calm, somewhat nostalgic mood. Soon, the rondo theme begins. This simple, upbeat modal theme drives the piece forward with an ostinato rhythm of Andean character. At first light and dance-like, it becomes progressively more dramatic until the rondo is interrupted by an extended orchestral interlude. The English horn finishes the piece with a slow, somber, extended cantilena as the piece dissolves in darkness.

The orchestration is light, bright and always focused on the solo instrument. The word “broken� of the title suggests not only the fact that the rondo form breaks down towards the end, but also implies an unexpected emotional struggle and a fracture from which the piece never recovers.

The work was commissioned by Johanna Cox with a grant from the University of Oklahoma Research Council and from Mr. Carl Rath. The work is dedicated to Johanna Cox who premiered it on June 26, 2010 in Norman, Oklahoma during the International Double Reed Society Conference with the IDRS Orchestra under conductor David Lockington.

In order to make this version more suitable for performance, some dynamics and harmonies in the accompaniment have been changed from the original orchestra version.

—Miguel del Aguila July 2, 2012

Duration: ca. 11 minutes

The orchestral version is available on rental.

Instrumentaton: Piccolo, Clarinet, Bassoon; 2 Horns; Timpani, Percussion (1 player), Harp; Strings

to Johanna Cox

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© Copyright 2014 by Peermusic III, Ltd. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured.

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