Equinox

“Richard Festinger’s Equinox for clarinet and chamber orchestra received its premiere at this series of concerts . Festinger, a music professor at San Francisco State University…. is the same age as Copland’s concerto, and he modeled his work on its great predecessor…. The differences, though, are significant. Festinger’s slow opening movement has faster passages, which Copland’s lacks; and his cadenza is purely contemplative… Festinger writes in an atonal idiom, striving for a lyrical sound similar to Alban Berg’s… Varying textures and patterns for different instruments give variety and interest to the strings. Rhythmic figures were passed around and elaborated on. Ashkenazy introduced one that was promptly picked up by solo violin, then viola, then harp and vibraphone. Then the clarinet extracted a different one from the running string accompaniment. Such moments are a delight to the intellectual ear.”