''Gestural Variations'', Op. 43, is a trio composition by

Graham Waterhouse Graham Waterhouse (born 2 November 1962) is an English composer and cellist who specializes in chamber music. He has composed a cello concerto, '' Three Pieces for Solo Cello'' and '' Variations for Cello Solo'' for his own instrument, and str ...

in 1997 originally for

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

, bassoon and piano. Later versions are scored for clarinet, cello and piano (1999) and flute, cello and piano (2009).

Movements

The composition of about 14 minutes presents a theme with six character variations, framed by an introduction and a postlude. Each variation expresses a movement or gesture similar to a

mime artist A mime artist, or simply mime (from Greek , , "imitator, actor"), is a person who uses ''mime'' (also called ''pantomime'' outside of Britain), the acting out of a story through body motions without the use of speech, as a theatrical medium ...

or a dancer. * Introduction * Theme * Var. 1 (abrupt, jerky) * Var. 2 (slow, graceful) * Var. 3 (fleeting, breathless) * Var. 4 (pensive, hesitating) * Var. 5 (threatening, menacing) * Var. 6 (exuberant, ebullient) * Postlude

History

''Gestural Variations'', op. 43, was commissioned by bassoonist Henry Skolnick and written for the annual conference 1997 of the

International Double Reed Society The International Double Reed Society (IDRS), is an organization that promotes the interests of double reed players, instrument manufacturers and enthusiasts. Services provided by the IDRS include an international oboe and bassoon competition, ...

(IDRS). It was first performed in 1997 by John Dee, Henry Skolnick and José Lopez at the

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...

. G. Salter remarked in the "Double Reed News": "The composer's purposeful use of ambiguous, shifting harmonies and overlapping unisons sets these contrasts in miniature apart from much that is being written today, conveying the uncertainties of our times." This first version follows the scoring of Poulenc's

Trio for oboe, bassoon and piano The ''Trio pour hautbois, basson et piano'' (Trio for oboe, bassoon and piano), FP 43, by Francis Poulenc is a three-movement chamber work, composed between 1924 and 1926, and premiered in the latter year. The trio was well received at its premie ...

. A second version, op. 43a, was written in 1999 for clarinet, cello and piano, a trio combination for which Beethoven composed his '' Trio'' op. 11 (''Gassenhauer-Trio''), Johannes Brahms his ''Klarinettentrio'' op. 114 and

Alexander Zemlinsky Alexander Zemlinsky or Alexander von Zemlinsky (14 October 1871 – 15 March 1942) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and teacher. Biography Early life Zemlinsky was born in Vienna to a highly diverse family. Zemlinsky's grandfather, Anton S ...

his ''Trio'' op. 3, among others. This setting of Gestural Variations appears on a recording ''Portrait'', a selection of the composer's chamber music on

Cybele Records Cybele Records is a German record label based in Düsseldorf, specializing in classical music, namely contemporary music. Founded in 1994, their motto is "Klassik der Zukunft" (Classics of the future), focused on contemporary composers and advan ...

, played by Markus Schön as the clarinettist, Waterhouse as the cellist, and Michael Wendeberg as the pianist. A review of Hubert Culot stated: The "highly contrasted variations display a remarkable instrumental mastery, that makes this work a feast from first to last." The versions were published by Hofmeister, Leipzig, in 1998 and 1999 respectively. Gestural Variations in a third version, op. 43b, for oboe, cello and piano was awarded a prize at the competition of ''Via Nova'' in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

and premiered there on 31 March 2000. The UK premiere of the clarinet version was played on 5 November 2002 in a Composer Portrait Concert with Graham Waterhouse in the St. Cyprian's Church in London. The original version opened the Welcome Recital 6 of the British Double Reed Society at the IDRS conference 2009 in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, played by Richard Simpson, Julie Price and Janet Simpson. A fourth version, op. 43c, for flute, cello and piano was premiered at the

Gasteig Gasteig is a cultural center in Munich, opened in 1985, which hosts the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. The Richard Strauss Conservatory, the Volkshochschule, and the municipal library are all located in the Gasteig. Most of the events of the Fi ...

Munich on 20 December 2009, played by

Jens Josef Jens Josef (born 5 August 1967 in Solingen-Ohligs) is a German composer of classical music, a flutist and academic teacher. Career Jens Josef received flute instructions from Rita Eggenweiler and Klaus Grünow, principal flute of the Staatsthea ...

, Waterhouse, and

Rudi Spring Rudi Spring (born 17 March 1962) is a German composer of classical music, pianist and academic. He is known for vocal compositions on texts by poets and his own, and for chamber music such as his three Chamber Symphonies. Career Born in Lind ...

. This version was played there again on 11 April 2010, this time with Christopher White as the pianist.

References

External links

Graham Waterhouse
website
Entries for Gestural Variations
on

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

{{italic title Chamber music by Graham Waterhouse Contemporary classical compositions Variations 1997 compositions