Four Scenes for Flute and Orchestra
"A Mother's Love" (2001)
22 minutes

Solo Flute
(picc-2clar-2bssn) (0-0-0-0) (0-3-harp) Stgs.
Harp part is prominent and harp should be positioned stage front with solo flute.

Commissioned by Frank Laney

Premiere Oct. 19, 2001
Anne Whaley Laney, flute
North Carolina Symphony, Gerhardt Zimmermann, conductor


I was approached in the summer of 1998 by Frank Laney, to compose a piece for his wife, Anne Laney, for her birthday. The piece should show both his love for her and his admiration for the ability to juggle the rigorous dual demands of principal flutist with the N.C. Symphony, and that of raising their two small children. Frank had two other requests: The piece should be lyrical, spoken softly and gently from the heart, and contain a significant harp part for Anne’s dear friend and N.C.S. harpist, Anita Burroughs Price.

“Four Scenes for Flute and Orchestra” is scored for small orchestra, solo flute, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, (delicate) percussion, harp and strings. The first movement, “Awakenings” describes the physiological and emotional “awakenings” that a new mother experiences. Soft, yearning statements by the solo flute are answered by the harp and muted strings. This is interrupted by woodwinds in a delicate waltz, a moment of barely contained joy, before the translucent mysticism of the opening returns.

The second movement, “Busy Days” depicts the balancing act that most modern age mothers perform: Juggling the stress of the workplace with the need to provide a warm, nurturing environment for their children. Moderately fast and set in sonata form, the primary theme is in mixed meter with rather angular statements from both flute and orchestra. The secondary theme in 2/2 is calmer and more lyrical with a broad melodic arch. At the end, the flute plays a quiet cadenza, a moment of serenity at the end of a hectic day.

The third movement, “Toddler’s Dance” is a musical description of a toddler’s response to music: a little clumsy, hesitant but delightfully charming. It is in ternary form and its mixed meter throughout provides us with a video of one of life’s most cherished moments, a child’s first dance.

The last movement, “Lullaby and Reflection” opens with a quiet lullaby for flute, harp and strings. It is followed by a slow restatement of the waltz from the first movement, by flute and harp. Strings later join in as music from the opening of the piece is heard in a different and reflective guise. The scene dissolves into whiteness in a long, quiet diminuendo.