Triple Concerto

This Triple Concerto for alto flute, tenor trombone, violoncello and orchestra is the strangest of beasts: a concerto without soloists. Though prominently featured and near-constantly playing, the three “soloists” never perform the usual virtuosic runs over a bland forgettable accompaniment; instead, they act as protagonists guiding the ensemble through a slowly changing, constantly variegated musical color field. Serving as a kind of spine running the length of the piece, the trio’s role is primarily to suggest ideas which are then taken up by others as an abstract symphonic narrative gradually unfolds around them, enacting a musical illustration of Paul Klee’s famous formulation: “A line is a dot that went for a walk.”