The Chamber Symphony is a

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

for chamber ensemble by the American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. It was commissioned by the music ensemble

Boston Musica Viva Boston Musica Viva is a Boston, Massachusetts-based music ensemble founded by its Music Director, Richard Pittman, in 1969 and dedicated to contemporary music. Composers and compositions In its 44-year history, Boston Musica Viva has performed m ...

, which first performed the work under the direction of Richard Pittman on November 30, 1979. The work is cast in a single

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 has a duration of approximately 17 minutes in performance.

Composition

Background

Zwilich was in the process of composing the Chamber Symphony in 1979 when her husband, the violinist Joseph Zwilich, died suddenly of a massive heart attack while attending a performance at the Metropolitan Opera House. In a 1985 interview with the music critic Tim Page, the composer reflected, "It's still very difficult for me to listen to the 'Chamber Symphony.' I had begun writing it before Joe died, and when I came back to complete it, everything had changed. It was a crucible of sorts. I loved Joe very dearly, and miss him to this day, yet his death taught me nothing so much as the joy of being alive—the joy of breathing, walking, feeling well, swimming, the joy of being human. Suddenly all talk of method and style seemed trivial; I became interested in meaning. I wanted to say something, musically, about life and living." In a 2011 interview with

Frank J. Oteri Frank J. Oteri (born May 12, 1964) is a New York City-based composer, a music journalist, lecturer, and new music advocateDrew McManuAn Interview with Frank J. Oteri ''The Partial Observer'', June 5, 2006. His musical works have been performed ...

, she further remarked:

Instrumentation

The piece is scored for a chamber ensemble consisting of

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

doubling

piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

doubling

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

, and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

Reception

Critical response to the Chamber Symphony has been mostly positive. Reviewing a 1983 performance of the piece,

Joseph McLellan Joseph Duncan McLellan, known as Joe, (1929-2005) was ''The Washington Posts music critic for more than three decades as well as a chess and book reviewer. Joe was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, on March 27, 1929, and grew up in Somerville, Mass ...

of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' described it as "a succinct, intense work that develops an orchestral richness of sound with piano, three strings, flute, and clarinet. Composed after her husband's sudden death, the music has a deep, direct emotional appeal, reflecting the anguish of that time."

Edward Rothstein Edward Benjamin Rothstein (born October 16, 1952) is an American critic. Rothstein wrote music criticism early in his career, but is best known for his critical analysis of museums and museum exhibitions. Rothstein holds a B.A. from Yale Universi ...

of ''The New York Times'' remarked, "Simple musical elements expressionistically touched on grief, outrage, bewilderment. The music soon fell prey to its sentiment without profoundly exploring it, but the effort was not without interest."

References

{{Ellen Taaffe Zwilich Symphonies by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich 1979 compositions Compositions for chamber orchestra Music commissioned by ensembles or performers Zwilich