Stephen Cohn

American Folk Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra

InstrumentationGuitar soloist 2Fl.(Picc.), 2Ob.(Eng. Hrn.), 2Cl., 2Bsn. 2Hrn., 3Trpt., Trmb., B. Trmb. Timp., 2Perc. Celesta, Hrp. Stgs.
Length27 Minutes
DifficultyModerate for orchestra. Virtuostic for Guitar
CommentsAmerican Folk Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra was composed for Angel Romero by Stephen Cohn. Angel will premiere the piece.

The concerto is based on well known American folk melodies with the composers own themes woven into the fabric. There are three movements which are titled:

I. "Go West" - American Spirit
II. Fall of the Twin Towers - Lost Loves and Heroism
III. Romancing Our Natural Beauty - The American Heart

I have had a great love and respect, since childhood, for the melodies on which the piece is based. So in composing the concerto, I have attempted to balance my desire to present the simple beauty of these melodies with the opportunity to write a virtuoso concerto for an artist like Angel Romero. I found this challenge to be very inspiring and emotionally stirring beyond my expectations.
SourcesStephen Cohn scohnmusic@earthlink.net 818-842-0092
ExtrasPlease see my website http://www.stephencohn.com/ for information about my music, including mp3 excerpts.
HistoryAngel Romero is most anxious to premiere the work. It has not been performed.
ContributorStephen Cohn, composer and publisher ASCAP
Other

Finale, from Two Together, an American Folk Music Suite

InstrumentationFl., Ob., Cl., Bsn., Hrn. 2Perc., Hrp., Celesta, Stgs.
Length10 minutes
DifficultyEasy
CommentsThis work is the Finale from a suite of eight pieces, each of which is a free-handed theme and variations on a well known American Folk song. The Finale contains the most important ideas of the suite. It was written for a recording that was intended to be family entertainment. It is melodic and lyrical and quite accessible to all audiences but still contains elements of twentieth century harmony and couterpoint.
SourcesStephen Cohn scohnmusic@earthlink.net 818-842-0092
ExtrasPlease see my website http://www.stephencohn.com/ for information about my music, including mp3 excerpts.
HistoryThe work was commissioned and then composed for a recording which took place in Prague. It was released on a CD by the At Peace Media Label. The recording won a Parents' Choice Gold Award. In Mach of 2006, Finale was performed by the Kansas City Symphony.
ContributorStephen Cohn scohnmusic@earthlink.net ASCAP
Other

Anticipation of Light

InstrumentationPicc., 3Fl. 3Ob., 3Cl., 3Bsn., C. Bsn., 6 Hrn., 3 Tmpt., 3 Trmb., Tb. Timp. 2 Perc., Hrp., Celesta., Stgs.
Length8.5 Minutes
DifficultyHard
CommentsAnticipation of Light was formed from a reaction to a troubling time for those with a humanistic view of life and the universe. When news of war and unspeakable acts of violence dominate the airwaves and fill us with terror and seemingly unanswerable questions, from what point of view can an artist speak - what does a creative voice have to offer? I found a little spark of light in the center of all my feelings of darkness and doubt about our future - a spark that seemed to burn more brightly and be more significant than all the chaos and pain. It is from this place that Anticipation of Light was created.

It is a twenty first century work which employs both textural and harmonic writing styles. There are themes which recur and are developed and there are textural areas which also reappear. The form is quite clearly delineated.

The mood ranges from bright to nostaglgic to forceful.
SourcesStephen Cohn scohnmusic@earthlink.net 818-842-0092
Extras=Please see my website http://www.stephencohn.com/ for information about my music, including mp3 excerpts.
HistoryThe work was commisioned, originally as a piano trio to be performed at a festival in the south of France in 2004. Recently, in looking at the score, I started to hear it as an orchestral work and so it was re-composed and orchestrated to it's current form.
ContributorStephen Cohn scohnmusic@earthlink.net
Other

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