STOMP by John Corigliano: Noah Bendix-Balgley, violin

Noah Bendix-Balgley performs STOMP by John Corigliano (2011) Recorded in the Berlin Philharmonie April 2020 Video Courtesy of the Digital Concert Hall John Corigliano's note about STOMP: "What to include in a competition piece in 2011? One could write a virtuoso étude or a lyrical essay: but the judges will have dozens of pieces that demonstrate these virtues. I thought a more interesting piece would test a performer’s imagination, intelligence and musicality by offering interesting new problems to solve. Hence, this unaccompanied six-minute study I call STOMP written for the 2011 Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia. STOMP poses its player three problems; of ear, style, and coördination. First, the violin’s outer two strings are tuned to non-standard pitches. This mis-tuning (scordatura) deepens the instrument’s range, and replaces the usual perfect fifths between strings with grating dissonances high and low. Second, the piece is modeled not on classical precedents, but on American fiddle music—bluegrass and jazz. And third, as in fiddle playing, the violinist must periodically stomp with his or her foot along with the music. So STOMP demands a theatrical mind, an unerring ear, and a delight in making music with the entire body."