Movers and Shakers

Instrumentation

3(picc)3(eh)3(E|,A,bcl)3(cbsn) 4331 t,p(4),pf,hp,str

Year

1984

Duration

27:00

Composed

7/24/1983 - 7/31/1984

Dedication

Christoph von Dohnányi

Comments

First work Dohnanyi commissioned in his tenure with Cleveland Orchstra

Commission

Commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra, the Musical Arts Association, Mr. and Mrs. Robert G. Klein, the Ohio Arts Council, and the Cleveland Foundation

"MOVERS AND SHAKERS has passages of aching lyricism, and many moments of sheer visceral excitement.  This is a big, bustling work; teeming with energy and intelligence." Tim Page, New York Times
"A major new piece by the respected American composer ... alternating moments of luminously orchestrated calm and energetic brilliance ... Any orchestra that wants to advertise its in-depth bench strength would be advised to investigate MOVERS AND SHAKERS" Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Wuorinen's splendid MOVERS AND SHAKERS ... an aural feast that focuses on the orchestra's solo, sectional and ensemble virtuosity...is composed of pungent and colorful textures and instrumental lines that are clearly and forcefully deployed.  There is never the sense, as in many contemporary works, that the note are piled up to cover up a lack of ideas ... Sometimes it screams in nervous fits, sometimes it sings with ethereal beauty.  The music's communicative power lies in its rhythmic vitality, its economy of gesture and its extremes of mood.  The car is always engaged by Wuorinen's alluring, startling shaping of materials and shimmering use of instruments." Akron Beacon Journal