Two Episodes

“If I was really pressed to choose just one composer from the classical canon it would have to be Beethoven, because he stands out as an example of what it is to be a contemporary composer.” So wrote Magnus Lindberg in connection with his orchestral work commissioned to prepare the way for the startling opening of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Two endings for Two Episodes are offered so it can either be presented as an individual work or it can lead seamlessly into the open fifth launch of the Beethoven. The first section responds to the impact of the “immense tutti writing in Beethoven’s first movement, full of bold sounds and energy, while the second is closer to the beauty of the slow movement and acts as a bridge towards the open fifth A and E and its D minor destination.” The work also embeds a number of Beethovenian allusions and the scoring matches that of the Ninth Symphony.