Magnus Lindberg

Gran Duo

New edition of this 1999-2000 dialogue between the two orchestral families of woodwind and brass, each with their respective material. Their initial characters, equating to the poetic stereotypes of 'masculine' and 'feminine', become progressively blurred and androgynised during the course of the work as larger sound masses give way to chamber music-style sub-groupings and individual instrumental solos. The wind-only scoring of the work posed various compositional challenges. The composer has stated that 'if no-one is playing, nothing is heard', so the illusion of sustained sound has to be created without the support of a string section. Similarly, clear attack and accentuation have to be carefully sculpted, as there is no percussion to help articulation. In the words of the London Times, Lindberg, a master of orchestral sound, has chosen virtually the same forces as Stravinsky in his Symphonies of Wind Instruments, and with its five connected movements Gran Duo is a symphony in the modern sense ... a darkly brooding yet peaceful work that reflects something of a unique landscape.