CHANGEOVER (2011)

In this work, an on-stage symphony orchestra is pitted against another ensemble that is distributed in smaller groups around the auditorium. These two unequal parties engage with each other, not on the terms of soloist and orchestral accompaniment, but rather in the sense of two contrasting opponents in a match-situation. The contrasting conditions mentioned above, such as wind and sunlight, light and shade, are represented musically by opposing pairs of timbres or gestures, such as noise versus pitch, solo versus polyphony, unison versus arpeggio and stasis versus movement. All of these parameters are employed according to rigorous structural principles laid down during the creative process.

Alwyn Tomas Westbrooke

CHANGEOVER is the twelfth in a series of compositions bearing tennis-related titles. As an avid tennis player himself, Žuraj attempts in each of these works to portray in music his own subjective impressions and emotions when confronted with the match-situation described in the work’s title. In tennis, the term “changeover” refers to when the players change ends after each odd-numbered game, thus nullifying as far as possible any advantage accorded by the direction of sunlight or wind, the distribution of light and shade and so forth.

In this work, an on-stage symphony orchestra is pitted against another ensemble that is distributed in smaller groups around the auditorium. These two unequal parties engage with each other, not on the terms of soloist and orchestral accompaniment, but rather in the sense of two contrasting opponents in a match-situation. The contrasting conditions mentioned above, such as wind and sunlight, light and shade, are represented musically by opposing pairs of timbres or gestures, such as noise versus pitch, solo versus polyphony, unison versus arpeggio and stasis versus movement. All of these parameters are employed according to rigorous structural principles laid down during the creative process.

Alwyn Tomas Westbrooke