Landscape and Memory, Concerto for 2 guitars and string orchestra

Simon Schama’s Landscape and Memory is a history book like no other. In a series of journeys through space and time, Schama examines our relationship with the landscape around us, specifically – forests, rivers, and mountains – and the impact that each of them has had on our culture and imaginations. He explores the way in which we, in turn, have shaped them to answer our needs. My single-movement concerto is a response to Schama’s book: musical material, suggesting the three contrasting landscape-types, interacts, overlaps, and diverges. The music begins with intense and claustrophobic forest music before gradually subsiding into fast flowing river music, eventually arriving at the still centre of the concerto – calm and spacious mountain music. There is a dialogue between the river and mountain musics before the forest music gradually works its way back into the musical argument, eventually taking over and dominating the final, climactic section of the piece.

Landscape and Memory was commissioned by Adam Cicchillitti and Steve Cowan with funds from the Canada Council for the Arts and Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. The first performance took place on 19^th March 2022 at the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, Ottawa, Canada, as part of the Guitare Alla Grande festival. Adam and Steve were joined by Ottawa-based chamber orchestra Thirteen Strings and their artistic director, Kevin Mallon.

With special thanks to Amy Brandon, Adam Cicchillitti, Steve Cowan, Kevin Mallon, and Thirteen Strings.

© 2023 Stephen Goss