''Adjustable Wrench'', sometimes also ''The Adjustable Wrench'', is a composition for mixed

chamber ensemble Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numbe ...

by American composer

Michael Torke Michael Torke (; born September 22, 1961) is an American composer who writes music influenced by jazz and minimalism. Torke was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he attended Wilson Elementary School, graduated from Wauwatosa East High School, an ...

. It was composed in 1987.

Composition

The composition was composed in 1987 and had its first performance in November 24, 1987. It was commissioned by the

Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (also known by the acronym HCMF, stylised since 2006 as the lowercase hcmf//) is a new music festival held annually in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. Since its foundation in 1978, it has featured ...

, in the United Kingdom, where it was premiered. The work was premiered by Ensemble Lontano, conducted by

Odaline de la Martinez Odaline de la Martinez (born 31 October 1949) is a Cuban-American composer and conductor, currently residing in the UK. She is the artistic director of Lontano, a London-based contemporary music ensemble which she co-founded in 1976 with New Zeala ...

. It was later published by Hendon Music and

Boosey & Hawkes Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and woodwind musical instruments. Formed in 1930 throu ...

, as most of Torke's compositions, and was first recorded by

Kent Nagano Kent George Nagano GOQ, MSM (born November 22, 1951) is an American conductor and opera administrator. Since 2015, he has been Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera and was Music Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 2006 to 20 ...

conducting the

London Sinfonietta The London Sinfonietta is an English contemporary chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble has headquarters at Kings Place and is Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre. Since its inaugural concert in 1968—givi ...

under

Argo Records Argo Records was a record label in Chicago that was established in 1955 as a division of Chess Records. Originally the label was called Marterry, but bandleader Ralph Marterie objected, and within a couple of months the imprint was renamed Ar ...

Structure

The composition is in one

movement Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

and takes up to 11 minutes to perform. It is scored for oboe, 2 clarinets in B-flat, bassoon, horn in F, two trumpets in B-flat, trombone, marimba, piano, synthesizer, two violins, viola, violoncello, and double bass. According to Torke, the work can be performed with multiple string parts and is compatible with symphony orchestras. There is no definitive seating arrangement for this composition for ensemble. However, the composer advises to put the piano near the winds, the marimba near the brass, and the synthesizer near the strings. Thus, three sections have to be well-defined on the stage. It begins with a

staccato Staccato (; Italian for "detached") is a form of musical articulation. In modern notation, it signifies a note of shortened duration, separated from the note that may follow by silence. It has been described by theorists and has appeared in music ...

melodic line by an instrument in the woodwinds, which is later transformed into chords by the strings. Then, the brass take over with a melody which is later transformed into chords, only to introduce a new melody based on the same harmonic structure. In this case, the keyboard instruments (piano, marimba and synthesizer) do not introduce anything additional to the music, for they imitate the group they belong in the composition. Given the

syncopated In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm": a "place ...

nature of the composition, these instruments reinforce the attacks. The composition relies on a basic four-bar structure that goes on in time, which is typical of

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

. According to the composer, the work is clearly structured into four differentiating sections.

Reception

The critics' response towards this composition has been overall positive. The ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'' has praised the intricacy of its constructions, whereas ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' has acknowledged its "relentless and ritual feel of jazz's wavelike choruses".

Recordings

So far, only the version by Kent Nagano and the London Sinfonietta has been released worldwide. It was recorded between November 9 and 13, 1989, at the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

studio in London.

References

{{authority control Compositions by Michael Torke 1987 compositions Contemporary classical compositions