for orchestra (1997)
3 (picc.).3 (cor).3 (bass cl.) .3 (contr.) 4.3.3.1, timp+2, pno/cel, strings
score available from
Wise Music
program note
Contrary to visions of a delayed landing approach from hell, the title 4 Hours in a Holding Pattern actually refers to a uniquely wonderful flight from St. Petersburg to London. Taking off at sunset, the plane impossibly follows the sun and lands four hours later, still in sunset. A dark horizon of deep orange, red and purple lasting as long as the fully staged version of Tristan und Isolde is something I may never experience again. Thanks extended to British Airways for a window seat and the economy-class food offering.
This piece is dedicated to Brenton Broadstock, my good friend and composition teacher. Brenton is the best orchestrator that I ever met, and I hope that this piece might serve as testament to the time we spent working on my music (8 years in holding pattern?). It has taken that long for the Fibonacci king to finally persuade me to try my hand at a formally proportioned structure built on the golden section.
The first performance was given by the University of Melbourne Orchestra, conducted by Richard Gill at South Melbourne Town Hall on 10 October 1997.