Wing on Wing

Wing on Wing is a single-movement composition for two sopranos and orchestra by the Finnish composer Esa-Pekka Salonen. The work was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for their inaugural season at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and was premiered June 5, 2004 by the orchestra under Salonen. The piece is dedicated to the architect Frank Gehry, the acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, and the L.A. Philharmonic CEO Deborah Borda.^[1][2]

Composition

Wing on Wing was inspired by the design of the Walt Disney Concert Hall by architect Frank Gehry.

Wing on Wing has a duration of roughly 27 minutes and is composed in one continuous movement. The title and composition of the piece are inspired by the architecture of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, which architect Frank Gehry likened to the appearance of a sailboat with its foresail and mainsail opened to a 180-degree angle. Salonen commented on the composition in the score program notes, writing:

My composition Wing on Wing is, of course, not an attempt to translate architecture into music, which would be an impossible task anyway. Nor is it a musical portrait of Frank Gehry, but rather an homage to an extraordinary building by an extraordinary man. At the same time it celebrates the efforts of every man and woman whose dedication, skill, and faith made a fantastic vision into reality.^[1]

The music also incorporates the sounds of a plainfin midshipman and the sampled voice of Frank Gehry.^[1]

Instrumentation

Wing on Wing is scored for two sopranos and an orchestra comprising four flutes (3rd doubling alto flute, 1st doubling alto flute and bass flute), three oboes, cor anglais, three clarinets (3rd doubling E-flat clarinet and bass clarinet), contrabass clarinet, four French horns, four trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, four percussionists, two harps, celesta, sampler, and strings.^[1]

Reception

Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times called Wing on Wing a "seductive, restless ode to Walt Disney Concert Hall and to the [Los Angeles Philharmonic]".^[2] Alex Ross of The New Yorker said it "meditates mesmerizingly on the architectural ideas of Frank Gehry, assembling high-tech orchestral-electronic textures that gleam and shimmer like the wings of Disney Hall."^[3] Stephen Johnson of BBC Music Magazine similarly lauded, "...while the sampled voice of Disney Hall architect Frank Gehry introduces a distractingly conceptualist note in Wing on Wing, the sound of the two wordless sopranos weaving in and out of lush orchestral textures is unforgettable."^[4] Arnold Whittall of Gramophone wrote:

Understatement was clearly not an option, and Salonen's overblown hymn of praise aims to celebrate 'a fusion between instrument and body, nature and technology'. The voice of architect Frank Gehry is electronically treated to produce mysterious, oracular sounds, and a pair of wordless sopranos soar ecstatically above saturated post-Messiaen chorales, in tribute to the imagery of wings and sails which link Gehry's building to the nearby Pacific Ocean.^[5]

References

1. Salonen, Esa-Pekka (2004). Wing on Wing: Program Note. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
2. Swed, Mark (February 12, 2005). "'Wing' truly catches the wind this time, and sails". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
3. Ross, Alex (May 7, 2007). "The Essential Salonen: Recordings by the music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.". The New Yorker. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
4. Johnson, Stephen (January 20, 2012). "Salonen: Foreign Bodies; Wings on Wing; Insomnia". BBC Music Magazine. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
5. Whittall, Arnold (July 2005). "Salonen Wing on Wing: Conductor Salonen's own music makes an impact but will it prove memorable?". Gramophone. Retrieved July 23, 2015.