Printed set (Score & Parts)
Piccolo
Flute 1, 2
Oboe 1,2
Clarinet in Eb
3 Clarinets in Bb
Bass Clarinet in Bb
Bassoon
Contrabassoon
Soprano Sax
2 Alto Saxes
Tenor Sax
Baritone Sax
4 Trumpets in Bb
4 French Horns
2 Tenor Trombones
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Piano
Timpani
6 Percussionists
Percussion 1: hi-hat, 2 toms, splash cymbal, China cymbal
Percussion 2 : bass drum, brake drum, finger cymbals, tam-tam
Percussion 3 : 4 tom-toms, brake drum, suspended cymbal
Percussion 4 : xylophone, glockenspiel
Percussion 5 : vibraphone
Percussion 6 : marimba
Double Bass"
Commissioned by Emory University, Lamar University, Arizona State University, Florida State University, Louisiana State University, Illinois State University, University of Kansas, and Mercer University. Consortium organized by Scott A. Stewart of Emory University and Scott Weiss of Lamar University.
Premiered February 26, 2004, Emory University Wind Ensemble, Scott Stewart, conductor.
Winner of the 2005 ABA / Ostwald Award.
Winner of the 2004 Walter Beeler Memorial Composition Prize.
This work is on the Texas UIL Prescribed Music List, classified as Grade 5.
"Redline Tango" takes its title from two sources. The first is the common term of "redlining an engine," or, pushing it to the limit. In the case of this score, "redline" also refers to the "red line," or the IRT subway line (2 & 3 trains) of the New York subway system, which is the train that goes between my apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and BAM, where this work was premiered.
The work is in three sections. The first section is the initial virtuosic "redlining" section, with constantly-driving 16th-notes and a gradual increase in intensity. After the peak comes the second section, the "tango," which is rather light but demented, and even a bit sleazy. The material for the tango is derived directly from the first section of the work. A transition leads us back to an even "redder" version of the first section, with one final pop at the end.
(John Mackey)
