Classical Music | Ensemble Music

Recorded on 05/16/2012, uploaded on 10/24/2012

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

I was immediately drawn to this piece when I first happened upon it a couple of years ago.  The juxtaposition of oboe and strings is always interesting to me, as an oboist, but rarely does a composer create such an engrossing world with this combination as David Ludwig does in this piece. The title (and inspiration) comes from the three meanings of a Catherine wheel:  the Rose window in a cathedral, a wheel-shaped torture device (which martyred St. Catherine), and a spinning firework.

In the second movement, the most reflective, the composer drew inspiration from “events of these past years that have led to further a culture of violence of dehumanization.” This is especially fitting given the present state of international events in many parts of the world. The relentless energy and sense of impending, unavoidable doom drive the first movement.  And yet, the oboe voice is eerily beautiful and resonant through the perpetual motion of the strings. The movement never stops, and the result is both hypnotic and disorienting.                                 (Notes by Crystal Hall)

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.