For my Symphony, I also decided to make some changes. I chose a three-movement design (fast-slow-fast) presented as scherzo-rondo-sonata. I moved the dance movement to the beginning (sort of an appetizer before the entrée); used a rondo for the “formless” adagio and included a sonata for the final movement. Continuing the meal course metaphor, for dessert I created a hot, ultra-rich (like chili peppers and chocolate) coda.
The first movement is actually a fast, short, puckish quodlibet (Latin for “what pleases”). The quodlibet presents well-known melodies successively or simultaneously, creating a whimsical, humorous medley or fantasia. The fragments I used include the initial wind and brass flourishes; two quotes from Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat, a quote from my own Piano Concerto and a brief cadenza featuring Cuban and Latin percussion instruments—a sonic world one easily absorbs growing up in South Florida.
The second movement is a slow, lyrical rondo in ABACA form. My intent was to create an “aural” refraction—perhaps similar to slowly turning a chandelier prism back and forth against the light. In this “what goes around, comes around” approach the outer refrains (A) are palindromic—in other words, the ending is the beginning played backwards. The interior episodes (B and C) contrast the refrain by their increased rhythmic activity, melodic and textural development.
The third movement is a fast, syncopated sonata with rhapsodic elements. An angular, animated first theme is presented; a broader, more song-like second theme follows and a joyous, third theme brings the exposition to a close. In an attempt to revisit the rondo and unify all the movements I made the development cyclic—thematic materials from the previous movements reappear and disappear. In the midst of this developmental reverie an abbreviated recapitulation is initiated which leads to the coda.
The coda presents a fast, chaotic and slow, dreamy reworking of motives that appeared throughout the composition. The fast portion begins with a fugato interrupted by declamatory, chordal punctuations. A fugato (Latin for “act of fleeing,”) is a contrapuntal style where a short motive starts alone then is pursued by others. However, the “fleeing” motives are soon subjected to stretto (Italian for “narrow, tight or close”) which is where a motive starts and others start before the first has finished. To enhance the disorder, the chordal punctuations are pulled out of alignment. This, of course, creates a helter-skelter situation—perhaps a “chasing of one’s tail.” The chaos engendered finally reaches a climax on a very declamatory, discordant harmony. The slow portion of the coda now begins with the same fugato motive but in longer values. Each repetition dissipates the energy into a softer texture. The opening theme is then presented in longer values accompanied by a more relaxed fugato motive. After a quick recall of the fugato motive, the work is concluded with an expanding collision of the opening intervals.