Instrumentation: Orchestra (3[3.picc]2[2.EH]3[3.BCl]2/4331/Timp+2/Str)
Duration: 9’00”
Awards: Winner of the American Prize in Composition, 2022, in Orchestral Music (Professional Division)
Publisher: Just a Theory Press
Performances:
- Brno Philharmonic (Recorded)
May 2018
Brno, Czech Republic - Tampa Bay Symphony
November 2019
Tampa, FL and St. Petersburg, FL - Musique en Seine
February 2020
Paris, France
Program Note:
Burst is a piece that has continually shifted in personal meaning since its original composition in 2017. Originally the piece was a simple exploration of the idea of a “burst” in several different guises: a burst of energy, a burst of quiet, a burst of sadness or joy. As I kept working with the piece, eventually listening to it over and over again in the editing process for Orchestral Masters Vol. 6, I came to realize that the personal significance of the piece ran deeper than I had initially recognized. Burst was my first major work since finishing my D.M.A. in Composition at The Hartt School, and it was the end of over a year of writer’s block. Since composing Burst I have composed a torrent of new music including a piano trio and a piano concerto. Burst signified the end of a compositional dry spell and the beginning of a new era of creativity – quite literally it was the start of my own Burst! I now consider the piece to be my love letter to creativity: composition and conducting for me, but so many more creative endeavors can be (and I certainly hope will be) invoked by the listener.
“We at Ablaze are very proud of our Orchestral Masters series of discs. Works such as Kyle Wernke’s “Burst,” exemplify all that is right with quality new music from the brightest young composers around the world. Kyle’s work is powerful, dramatic, brilliantly orchestrated and wonderfully effective. We are extremely proud to add him to our growing roster of high quality international composers!”
Douglas Knehans, director and producer