Guitar Concerto for 7-String Guitar and Orchestra - Matthew Grasso

Guitar Concerto for 7-String Guitar and Orchestra composed by Matthew Grasso Please check out Bandcamp for more music: https://matthewgrasso.bandcamp.com/music Conducted by Aya Ueda Soloist: Miyan Grasso - 7-string guitar American River College Orchestra Camera work by Serge Kuzmin (https://videomelody.tv/) Audio recording by Matthew Grasso For sheet music scores visit. http://matthewgrasso.com/sheetmusic_c... Guitar Concerto for Extended Seven-String Guitar and Orchestra During the summer of 2004, I encountered a man in front of a table at the Davis Food Co-Op. There were signs on the table labeled vegan and a strange photo of a primate with a metal device around his head. I glanced through a photo album of other pictures taken from various primate centers. They disturbed me and this experience moved me to compose a guitar concerto, which is dedicated to the victims of the Primate Center. Guitar Concerto for Extended Seven-String Guitar and Orchestra was completed in January 2005. Unlike most traditional concertos, which have three movements, this concerto is a one-movement work, that can be divided into three sections. The musical language includes the dorian mode, octatonic scale, quartal harmonies, a touch of Indian rhythms, and reoccurring themes for symbolic purposes. In this orchestration I incorporated full strings, oboes, flutes, and bassoons. The first section introduces the main themes of the composition. It is mournful, compassionate and filled with longing. The second section, largely uses the octatonic scale to express the torment of the primates. The violas’ bending various pitches represents the crying primates. In addition, this section explores the darkest regions of the human psyche. In the concluding section I depict a possible liberation of the primates. Each musical instrument represents a primate, and when the respective instrument plays the theme of compassion, a primate becomes free. The composition closes with my final reflection of the current unresolved state of affairs. I would like to thank the Jane Goodall Foundation for providing inspiration and education in the areas of primate behavior and conservation. I hope is to inspire compassion for all beings. Matthew Grasso October 2007 #classical #guitar #composer #guitar concerto #7-string guitar #concerto #orchestra #orchestral #7stringguitar #7strings #music #sevenstring #symphony #symphonyorchestra