A Rag and a Tango for orchestra, A

This set of two pieces for wind orchestra was commissioned by and dedicated to David Porcelijn for the South Jutland Symphony Orchestra for the concert in October 2010.
The two works can be performed as a set in the given or reverse order and can also be performed as single pieces.

The first one, A RAG, is an arrangement of my "Russian Rag" (originally written for piano solo in 1996), it is reminiscent of Russian nostalgic music of the 20s and 30s, with its bitter- sweet harmonies and melodies. It is written in a rondo form and is in A minor.

The second one, A TANGO, starting in A minor and ending in D minor, is an arrangement of a recent piece of mine for orchestra "Re-Collecting ASTORoids" (2009), that piece was written in tribute to Astor Piazzolla. Even though it is a fast tango, it also has some ragtime influences. I am quoting my own "Peggy's Rag" (piano solo 1996) in one section.

It is a special privilege to be able to write this arrangement for David Porcelijn, who over many years has conducted several of my pieces very wonderfully and true to their nature, including "Heaven is Closed" specifically commissioned by him for the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.