"Night and Now" A flute concerto written by Elena Kats-Chernin for flautist Sally Walker

World Premiere with the Darwin Symphony Orchestra conducted by Matthew Wood. Night and Now was written in 2015 for flautist Sally Walker. It is a concerto in three movements and takes as its starting point aspects of the Russian personality and character, as well as aspects of the flute itself. It draws very much on my own experiences as a child of that world, both aurally and in day to day life. Until I was 17, that was everything that I knew. The timbre and sonorities of the flute itself offer much variation to the composer. It can be brilliant, shrill and scurrying, or whispering and mellow. The flute can draw sharp or soft lines, it can be rich, or mystical, or virtuosic, penetrate a full sound or sigh into the texture. When Sally and I began to think about what a major work for flute and orchestra would sound like, we discussed all of these qualities and how to showcase the flute as a solo instrument and emphasise its unique sound and capabilities. Sally also suggested to me that I might use stories from that time, or from my own life as a template to the overall design of the composition. And so I did. The first movement is based on two imagined Russian fairy tales; one taking place deep in the woods - always a place of foreboding and unease for this writer, but also promise and adventure and transformation. The other is in a silvery castle, impressively elaborate and bejewelled. A place of immersive succour and plenty. Two very different “nights”. The second movement is pressing and rhythmic in A minor, with counterpoint and a strong pulse and discipline. The opening motif is contrasted by a more romantic, starry-eyed melody in a completely different key (D flat major). One of my overriding memories of childhood in Russia is of lining up for hours and hours for one loaf of bread or piece of cheese, and the perseverance and sometimes ultimate disappointment that had to be faced when food just ran out. This was absolutely distinct from the wonder and open-mouthed joy my family would feel when we were able to get (greatly prized) oranges or strawberries. The third movement begins with an extended solo cadenza for the flute. Throughout, themes and fragments recur from the preceding material as the flute crosses further through the odyssey, eventually arriving at a Tarantella. In C minor (one of my favourite dramatic keys), the Tarantella is a fast dance that often seeks to alter and remould the dancer in some way. In particular, I like the story of the Tarantella evolving from the agitated dance of the victim of a tarantula bite. The bitten would attempt to draw out the spider poison through ever more vigourous and indefatigable movements, gestures and signs. Most Tarantellas are in 6/8 but mine is in 12/8. Perhaps there were two spiders?