Instrumentation
2 Fl (2=Picc), 2 Ob (2=EH), 2 Cl (2=Bcl), 2 Bsn (opt. 2=Cbsn) / 4 Hn, C Tr, Ttbn, Btbn / Timp, Perc / Hp / Strings
During the pandemic, I was struggling to find commissions. This left me with a certain amount of free time, which I tried to fill with personal projects. One day, after teaching my orchestration class, I was grading an assignment I had given for the past 10 years, orchestrating the first 8 bars of a Grieg Lyric Piece (‘Erotikk,’ from op. 43). It suddenly dawned on me that I had never actually tried this assignment myself; nor, in fact, had I actually orchestrated a piece by another composer. I decided to rectify this by orchestrating the whole of ‘Erotikk’ and found that I enjoyed the process so much that I went on to orchestrate the other 5 pieces in the set. I decided to use a slightly smaller orchestra (double winds, reduced brass and percussion) for these more intimate pieces, which I had enjoyed playing on the piano as a child.
The piece was premiered in 2021 by the CCM Concert Orchestra under Aik Khai Pung.
Premiere
2021