The Island
Commissioned by the Tönhalleochester, Zürich and first performed by them on 10th July 2009. Thomas Hengelbrock conducted.
It's a symphonic poem but is an impression rather than a story, and follows an unusual trajectory: it starts loudly and gradually quietens to a soft finish. Of all my pieces it's the most popular in spirit, with quite a lot of latin percussion and dance rhythms. It was written at the height (or should I say depth) of the Trinidad project so I suppose that's not surprising.
It is scored for modest forces: the same orchestra as Beethoven 5, plus two percussion and lasts 20 minutes.