Anthony Mosakowski Concert Overture
Anthony Mosakowski Concert Overture Program Notes
It’s always exciting to introduce a piece of music to an audience for the first time, especially a work like Anthony Mosakowski’s Concert Overture, with its great energy, artistry, sense of melody and craft. The Overture, for an orchestra of single winds, varied percussion, harp, piano and full strings, opens with two ascending and energetic eruptions of sound. The instrumental color of just three instruments blooms as more instruments join in, and grows to support a humming melodic line in the cellos and solo trombone. The heart of the Overture is a sense of musical consonance, with occasional restless interruptions from material from the piece’s opening. The middle section is built up over a peaceful, canonic layering of a melody which is almost evocative of a Gregorian chant, which is played gradually less peacefully as it continues. A troubled melody emerges in the bass section, then solo bassoon, leading towards a restatement of the piece’s opening (slightly more intense) and a restatement of its lyrical optimism to the very end.Concert Overture is an orchestral work by American composer Anthony Mosakowski, written in a festive and accessible style that showcases the full orchestral ensemble. Mosakowski has been closely associated with the Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia region's musical community.
Mosakowski composed the Concert Overture as part of his output of works for orchestra, many of which were written for and premiered by ensembles in the Philadelphia area.
A typical performance lasts approximately 6 to 10 minutes.
Listen for the energetic, confident orchestral writing that makes effective use of the full ensemble. Mosakowski's music is direct and communicative, with a strong sense of momentum and a flair for orchestral color.
Mosakowski represents the vital tradition of composer-community partnerships in American orchestral life, writing music rooted in and responsive to the musical communities he serves. His association with the Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra reflects the important role regional orchestras play in supporting living American composers.
