DESCRIPTION:
The following is a video of the Metropolitan Symphony conducted by William Schrickel featuring violist/composer Daniel Erdmann performing the world premiere of his Concerto for Viola & Orchestra at Roseville Lutheran Church in Roseville, Minnesota on March 29th, 2015. The concert also featured Barber's First Essay and Beethoven's 5th Symphony.

The composer had the following notes about the piece:

"I decided to write my Concerto for Viola and Orchestra in 2005 when I was a freshman at St. Olaf College. During that time, I had fallen in love with Romantic era orchestral music from the 19th and early 20th centuries. As a violist, I spent months searching for an inspiring Romantic viola concerto that I could learn to play. Great composers I admire such as Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Dvorak, Rachmaninoff, and Barber wrote many incredible concertos, but none for the viola. I decided to thoroughly teach myself composition and orchestration so that I could take on the challenge of writing my own viola concerto.

As my early attempts at writing the piece came to dead ends, I realized that I needed to allow the inspiration for the music as a whole to be completely honest and personal. The concerto is structured in three movements following Classical and Romantic traditions with a slow middle movement surrounded by faster outer movements. Though each movement is based roughly around classical music forms (sonata, song form, and rondo respectively), the music chronicles a personal story of depression, love, and overwhelming happiness. My hope is that the music will speak for itself, and resonate with the listener on their own terms."

For information on upcoming concerts visit www.msomn.org

*For any interested violists: sheet music will be available to order online soon!