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The composer writes: "Movements 3, 4, 5 and 6 were written before Edward (Harper) died, but he was already ill with cancer and the whole concerto was written under the shadow of this.

The first movement, Funeral March, opens with a sequence of low six-note chords in the piano. These chords provide the basis for the complete concerto and are treated in various contrasting ways in each movement. The orchestra becomes an extension of the piano, sustaining these chords and taking them where the piano can’t go. The concerto is not a confrontation between soloist and orchestra – the piano is more like another section of the orchestra. A slow throbbing, but varying, pulse runs through the Funeral March – first in the harp, sometimes the timpani, sometimes pizzicato and, at the climax, with brass and woodwind. In the following tranquil Adagio the six-note chords are turned into serene melodic lines with quiet sustained chords in the strings. The first scherzo is short, fast and restless. The central movement, Addolorato (distressed, grieved, upset), is, in turn, slow and reflective (in the piano), and querulous and disturbing (in the orchestra), posing questions rather than offering solutions. The second scherzo is fast, light and fleeting – with a hushed centre. The second Adagio is composed of slow, unsettled and quiet chords leading to an angry outburst at the climax, and the pace in the final presto is only interrupted briefly with some reference to Adagio 1."

Extract from a review by Michael Tumelty for “The Herald” in Scotland, 19 March 2012.: “Stars of the night were Lyell Cresswell, for his volcanic, volatile Piano Concerto, and pianist Stephen de Pledge for his powerhouse delivery, with its sledgehammer force and shockingly steel-like clarity in the poignant, reflective moments in the music.”

• Cresswell: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra; computer-set 

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• Cresswell: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra; computer-set 

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• Lyell Cresswell: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra 

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• Davidson: Robert Schumann / Symphony no. 5; computer-set 

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• Davidson: Robert Schumann / Symphony no. 5; computer-set 

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• Davidson: Robert Schumann / Symphony no. 5; computer-set 

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• Matthew Davidson: Robert Schumann / Symphony no. 5 

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Written in 2010 this is my first large-scale orchestral work.
Each of the four movements is based on the idea of one of the four classical elements – Fire, Water, Air, Earth. It also contains an idea of the creation of the world.
It employs a large orchestra and is fairly traditional in form and structure. Each of the movements has thematic links which unify the piece.

• Vinten: Symphony - The Elements; computer set 

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Symphony No. 3 was composed as part of Anthony Ritchie’s work as senior lecturer in composition at the University of Otago, in Dunedin, New Zealand. It was written over a period of two years between 2008-2010, without a specific orchestra in mind. It will be recorded by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra under conductor, Tecwyn Evans, in 2010, as part of a CD of Anthony Ritchie’s orchestral compositions. The premiere live performance will take place in The Otago Festival of Arts, October 2010, with the Southern Sinfornia orchestra in Dunedin. The composer wishes to acknowledge the support of the University of Otago in writing this symphony.

This symphony is a portrayal of two sides of human personality, represented by the two movements of the work: ‘Up’ and ‘Down’. The music depicts the constant struggle to find balance in one’s life, in terms of mood and relationship with other people.

Broadly speaking, ‘Up’ is active, busy, bright in mood. Musical motifs and themes emphasize upward progressions, while the orchestration is lively and colourful. Full of blazing brass and high-pitched woodwind, ‘Up’ is associated with images of the sun, and outdoors activity. Percussion play an important role rhythmically, especially the combination of log drum and tom toms. Eventually the lively character of the music loses control, leading to a riotous climax involving the percussion and full orchestra in unison. The music disintegrates into a short oasis of calm, before the busy mood is gradually reestablished, and brings the movement to a bright end, on a D Lydian chord.

‘Down’, by contrast, is melancholic, slow and mournful in mood. If ‘Up’ is associated with the sun, then ‘Down’ is associated with Saturn. There is also reference made to Durer’s famous woodcut, Melancholia (1514), in which a magic square appears. The numbers on this square are used to generate themes and ideas in this movement – the opening piccolo melody, underpinned by wispy strings, for example. A second theme, featuring tuba and bass trombone, refers to a ‘tuatara’ teme written by the composer in 1991, and here is ponderous in tone. Following a gradual buildup a faster section emerges, full of tension and unresolved progressions. The angry protests subside, and a mysterious passage recaps the first theme, accompanied by constantly shifting strings. Out of the depths emerges a bass clarinet, playing a bird-like theme, which is picked up by the other woodwinds in a fugue, which refers back to the earlier quick section. After a brief silence, the second theme reappears but this time in a passionate, full-blooded version that leads to a tense climax. The music searches for resolution, and eventually finds it in a lyrical coda for strings alone, to start with. Themes from earlier in the symphony are transformed and the overall key centre, D, is hinted at but never quite reached. The chiming of a clock suggests the never-ending passing of time, and the log drum, so prominent in the first movement, returns to conclude the work.

• Ritchie, A.: Symphony No. 3; computer-set 

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• Ritchie, A.: Symphony No. 3; computer-set 

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• Anthony Ritchie: A Bugle Will Do 

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• Anthony Ritchie: Symphony no. 3 

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Symphony No. 4 is dedicated to the memory of singer, composer and poet Mahinarangi Tocker, who died in tragic circumstances three years ago. The symphony has five sections linked by bell sounds that ’ring the changes’. Each section quotes a fragment of one of Mahinarangi’s songs and is also, in the score, headed by one or two lines of her poetry.

Section One (from 0:00):
‘the sea mimics a thousand applauding kanuka’

Section Two (from 5:50):
’I’m happy, dressed for laughter,
Cave me wild under tonight’s moon.’

Section Three (from 11:36):
‘The window fogs
to track my finger
smudge my eyes in mist
in questions asked of beauty.’

Section Four (from 18:53):
’I’m the only one turning,
The world has stopped.’

Section Five (from 22:31):
‘no sky in her day
no clouds below her feet
No body to shroud her, in linen
of earth’s flax-woven warmth"

These lines were taken from emails Mahinarangi sent to the composer during their collaborations and discussions about music.

• Harris: Symphony no. 4 (To the memory of Mahinarangi Tocker); computer set 

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• Ross Harris: Symphony no. 4 (To the memory of Mahinarangi Tocker) 

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• Ross Harris: Symphony no. 4 (To the memory of Mahinarangi Tocker) 

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