Winter's Tale

Year: 2014

Heading: for cello and orchestra

Movement Titles:
I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Largo
IV. Andante
V. Allegro

First Performance:
December 20, 2014
Julie Albers, cello
Albany Symphony Orchestra/ David Alan Miller
Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
Troy, New York

Instrumentation: 2.2.0.2.—2.1.1.0—Vibraphone—Solo Cello—Strings

Duration: 25'

Recording: Winter's Tale is found on the recording, Three Manhattan Bridges

Listen now: WINTER’S TALE (click here to listen)

Press:
...in his sure handed orchestration, Torke’s new cello concerto, — Winter’s Tale —...[had] a crisp and vibrant tempo [with] bright and spacious coloring. —Albany Times Union

...[it] exudes free-flowing melodic and rhythmic qualities fully emblematic of Torke's style. —Texturo

The rhythmic is still as attractively propulsive as in his early works, but more organic and fluid. —Colorado Public Radio

...this is a very good solo work for cello, and Torke's writing showcases the mood of that instrument's lush timbre quite well. —Daniel Coombs, Audiophile Audition

Program Notes:
Though not based on Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, the concerto is nevertheless inspired by lines from the play: from moody winter thoughts, through warmer and more redemptive springtime feelings. Each of the five movements are similar in structure, organized in a palindromic fast-medium-slow-medium-fast scheme, but each movement has its own melodies, harmonies, and affect. My ear was led by the melancholic yet singing richness of the solo cello's sound.