For tenor saxophone, trumpet, and piano.
2017
Three Musicians Around a Theme
The title is deliberately historical. Divertimento here recalls its Renaissance and Baroque meaning — an instrumental gathering, musicians convening around shared material — with none of the lightness the word has since acquired. The mood is closer to the opposite.
The material, as in Fantasia III, comes from the opening of the Prelude to Act II of Puccini's Madama Butterfly. The same question is asked again: what exists before those bars, and what might come after? If Fantasia III posed the question for cello and accordion, Divertimento reopens it for a different ensemble — a new approach to the same threshold.
The work received its premiere on 13 May 2017 at Contrasti. Festival di musiche nuove e del '900 (4th edition), MotoContrario Ensemble, Sala Fondazione Caritro, Trento.
Technical details
Type - Chamber trio
Year - 2017
Ensemble - Tenor saxophone, trumpet, piano
Source material - G. Puccini, Madama Butterfly, Act II Prelude
World premiere - 13 May 2017, MotoContrario Ensemble Contrasti. Festival di musiche nuove e del '900, 4th edition Sala Fondazione Caritro, Trento