PROGRAM
GABRIELLA SMITH: f(x)=sin² x-1/x (2019). Premier at L'Auditori - 5'
PERFORMERS
Barcelona Symphony Orchestra
Ludovic Morlot, conductor
The Pacific Ocean, climate change, forest fires, coral reefs, the northern coast of California, bioluminescence or circadian rhythms have been the sources of inspiration for the twelve orchestral works of the young American composer Gabriella Smith (1991). Born in Berkeley, she has been able to combine her love for music and ecology in her creations. After receiving advice from John Adams, whose music is a strong influence, she graduated in 2013 from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Just six years later, in 2019, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, in a joint commission with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, commissioned a work to her as part of its 125th anniversary celebrations.
The result was f(x) = sin 2 x – 1/x (2019), a piece that receives its European premiere in this concert. As Smith herself explains, the beginning of her creative process consists of drawing a curve that defines the outline of the work's form in terms of energy and dynamic content ―vertical axis: f (x)― with respect to time ― horizontal axis: x. The curve of this composition responds to the mathematical function f(x) = sin 2 x – 1/x, which describes the structure of the piece, in the same way that classical authors titled their works as sonata or rondo. In perceptual terms, we will immediately encounter a first soft climax that decays to begin a strong rise that will culminate at the end of the score.
