Programme Note Sinfonia Concertante for String Quartet and String Orchestra was commissioned by the Newfoundland Sinfonia, the Canadian Chamber Ensemble and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra through a grant from the Canada Council. In writing this work, I attempted to follow the structure and spirit of the classical Sinfonia Concertante (especially those examples by Haydn and Mozart) and such multiple-concerti as Beethoven's Triple Concerto and Brahms' Double Concerto. The greatest challenge I faced with the orchestration of this Sinfonia Concertante was the similarity of timbre between the soloists and the orchestra, with no woodwinds to provide any contrast of sonorities. The solution I used was to reduce the orchestra to an accompanying role when the soloists were playing. This allows the solo quartet to be a true concertante group in keeping with the classical models. The first movement, in Sonata Form, opens with a virtuoso passage for the string quartet, accompanied by sustained unisons in the orchestra. This leads to an orchestral tutti presenting the principal theme of the movement (in the first violins) which provides the source material for the development section. In the second movement, the solo quartet creates a rather melancholy mood over the muted strings of the orchestra. The third movement, in Rondo form, opens with solo passages for various pairings of the quartet which reflect on the classical precedents of the concertante genre. The Rondo theme, in full orchestra, is followed by two episodes which highlight first the viola and violoncello and then the two violins. A final virtuosic coda unites the quartet as a solo group. Sinfonia Concertante was written from October 1991 to December 1991; it was begun in the Leighton Artist Colony in the Banff Centre and completed in Toronto. It is dedicated to Yolanda Van Dyck, a visual artist from Calgary, and Caroline Woodward, a writer from British Columbia, two artists whose support and encouragement during my stay at the Artist Colony helped inspire the work.

REVIEWS 1. The Premiere Performance: Kitchener, Ontario, October 14, 1992 Kitchener-Waterloo Record, October 15, 1992: Colleen Johnston Toronto composer Michael Parker wrote Sinfonia Concertante, Op. 46 partly due to a commission from the KWS. This brilliant work received its premiere performance Wednesday under [conductor Samuel] Wong, and here the integrity of the composition was matched by the musicality and leadership of the conductor. Superbly crafted counterpoint, in a highly chromatic but basically tonal style, is shaped by Parker into configurations of extreme complexity and logic. Like Bach, Parker also makes excellent idiomatic use of an inner string quartet, pitting their intimate sound with that of the larger orchestra. Violinists Eduard Minevich and Katherine Hubly, violist Dan Bush and cellist John Helmers dug into their parts with energy and mastery. Obviously challenged by this writing, these musicians conveyed a sense of urgency to the 225-person house. The orchestra at large also responded to Wong's interpretation with visceral conviction. Wong pulled, pushed and twisted this fascinating piece into a form that was immediate and vital. 2. Toronto Symphony Performance, February 2/3, 1994 Toronto Star, February 4, 1994: Ronald Hambleton Canadian composer Michael Parker's anachronistic Sinfonia Concertante Op. 46 reached back in time to clothe earlier idioms in contemporary garb... Parker's Sinfonia for 31 strings, with a string quartet as soloist, began in a busy contrapuntal style with much stimulating musical dialogue...[and concluded with] a lusty, tub-thumping finale. 3. Newfoundland Sinfonia Performance, St. John's, NF, February 1, 1997 Evening Telegram, February 3, 1997: Glenn Colton The most interesting work performed was unquestionably Michael Parker's Sinfonia Concertante Op. 46. Based on the structure and three-movement format of classical models, Parker's piece infuses the genre with a neo-romantic intensity of expression deriving from rich harmonic colors and dramatic contrasts in dynamics, tempo and mood. Accessible yet highly original, Parker's piece provides further evidence to support the view that he is one of Canada's most gifted composers.

Michael Parker, filled with intense inspiration, during the composing of Sinfonia Concertante in Toronto in 1991.