|
When I went to music school, I paid my rent playing fiddle in a country band. It was during this time that I fell in love with the pedal steel guitar. From its beautiful liquid lyricism to its brilliant blazing articulate passages (what we in the trade call “shredding”), there seemed to be nothing this underappreciated instrument wasn’t capable of. And yet the steel’s vast potential seemed mostly untapped, players
rarely venturing outside of a small repertoire of familiar phrases
and gestures. I hope to introduce a new vocabulary for the steel with this piece. Although much of the solo part is rooted in the traditions of the instrument, particularly blues and bluegrass, at every turn I have attempted to place it in an unfamiliar and challenging context. It is also worth noting that I composed this piece immediately after the attacks of 9/11. The first movement reflects the deep depression and despair I felt at that time. The second movement, a kind of spiritual reckoning. But by the third, I was ready to defiantly declare that “life goes on” with a manic and almost comic vengeance.
Michael A. Levine -- 2005
back to Concerto for Pedal Steel Guitar
|
