About that symphony again... it's really a huge suite of preludes for orchestra, 52 in all. Each one is inspired by something interesting about each of the 50 US States, plus the District of Columbia and the territory of Puerto Rico. It could be a natural landmark, a man-made structure, an historical figure or event, or in the case of Maryland, the state flag. Classical forms may be used, such as a fugue (Pennsylvania) or sonata form with repeat (Louisiana, but recapitulation is in Missouri). A number of featured solo instruments will be used; the middle 11 movements (Louisiana through Minnesota) would be like a piano concerto.
The main inspiration for the work is Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, as orchestrated by Ravel. Like that work, with the Promenade, there are recurring themes, the first presented as a hymn-type piece in the first movement, Maine. It opens with the three "Masonic chords" heard in the Magic Flute. The overall key is E flat major, but all 24 major and minor keys will be used, along with a number of atonal movements and several Arabic maqam scales using quarter tones.
I've finished, or almost finished, about 13 of the movements. They vary in length from less than two minutes for D.C. (a simple fanfare) to around ten minutes for the yet-unwritten Texas movement (a violent scherzo in D minor, à la Night on the Bare Mountain). The total length of the work should be around three hours.
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