Work of the Week – Andrew Norman: Switch

A symphonic zigzag journey: Under the direction of Jonathan Bloxham, the Grafenegg Academy Orchestra together with soloist Colin Currie will give the Austrian premiere of Andrew Norman's Switch for percussion and orchestra  at the Grafenegg Festival on 21 July 2024. 

Commissioned by the Utah Symphony Orchestra, Switch premiered in 2015 in Salt Lake City (Utah, USA) with Colin Currie, for whom Andrew Norman wrote the piece, under Thierry Fischer. The work arose from Norman's reflections on non-linear storytelling, inspired by various media such as film, television and video games that follow this narrative style.

Switch by Andrew Norman: A Game of Control 

Switch is a game of control. Each percussion instrument (both in front of and behind the orchestra) is a switch that controls other instruments in specific ways [...] The soloist is dropped into this complex contraption of causes and effects like the unwitting protagonist of a video game. (Andrew Norman)

If you would like to experience music by Andrew Norman, we recommend his opera for all ages A Trip to the Moon. It will be performed on 30 and 31 July 2024 at the Garsington Opera Festival in Wormsley, England.

Further Reading:

Andrew Norman: Composer Profile

Switch: Work Details and Online Score 

Website Grafenegg Festival

Website Garsington Opera

illustration: AkimD, Biod, Adobe