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Art of war: Concerto for piano and orchestra

Art of War, is a two-movement concerto for piano and orchestra inspired by Sun Tzu’s work of the same name, a celebrated book from Ancient China on military strategy. Rather than re-exploring the various standard patterns of opposition and resolution that have figured in the concerto over several centuries, the two movements offer two different outcomes to the same musical material, akin to two scenarios described in Sun Tzu’s book. At the same time the two movements present musical textures typically associated with the concerto - such as the virtuoso and the reposeful, and the soloist and the full orchestra - in a novel structural relationship. The result may be viewed as a creative exercise in deconstruction.

Movement 1: ‘Captive Nation’

‘If a small country does not assess its power and dares to become the enemy of a large country, no matter how firm its defences be, it will inevitably become a captive nation.’

The progress of the movement elaborates Tzu’s assertion, with the solo piano (‘ the small country’) instigating conflict before becoming subsumed. Single-note gestures prompt increasingly aggressive responses from the orchestra. A virtuoso dialogue between soloist and orchestra leads to fleeting moments of repose before an uncertain conclusion.

Movement 2: ‘Strategic Siege’

‘Complete victory is when the army does not fight, the city is not besieged . . . but in each case the enemy is overcome by strategy. This is called strategic siege.’

In this movement the role of the ‘small country’ (the solo piano) is changed from instigator to saboteur. Here the single-note gestures presented in the first movement chip away at a wall of sound created by the orchestra, subtly manipulating and transforming it until the orchestra follows the lead of the piano and succumb to its persuasive power.