BEAT… The opening timpani solo is the “Ur” beat, the primordial pulse that infuses every moment of the piece. From this the music explodes into a frantic pastiche of stylistic allusions... Phrases and sections are abruptly cut-off or stretched out of proportion. Familiar sounds and gestures are morphed into and out of dissonant walls of sound. Throughout this the piece gradually builds momentum and fury until finally collapsing into an uneasy calm. The pulse, still present but subdued, emanates from beneath sustained strings. A theme gradually emerges and builds to a romantic and somewhat sentimental climax before dissolving into unhurried memories of ancient music (romantic dreams of a more relaxed time). The timpani makes a brief attempt to reassert itself before the seemingly eternal sustained chords finally evaporate.

BEAT… was written in the Spring/Summer of 1997, born of four time-related psychological experiences: the immanent birth of my daughter, turning 30, the conceptual wall (the new millennium) that our culture was racing headlong toward, and my growing awareness of my experience of accelerating time – the sense that each day, week, month and year were passing more and more quickly.

BEAT… was written for the Albany Symphony Orchestra, and premiered by the ASO under the direction of David Alan Miller, on Sept. 12, 1997, in Albany, New York.

-- DW 2/02