Vortex (2022)

Vortex for Cello and Strings (2022) was co-commissioned by Music in the Vineyards with support by Anne and Greg Evans and Chamber Music Sedona for its 40th Anniversary.

Vortex for Cello and Strings is inspired by both Ezra Pound’s quote, “the vortex is the point of maximum energy,” and the mythical energy believed to exist in the natural landscape of Sedona. Sedona’s beauty and powerful energy has moved me since I first visited when I was eight years old.

Vortex is also a culmination of fifteen years of artistic collaboration with cellist Nicholas Canellakis. We play in a cello/piano duo, and I’ve written several works for him. After showing Nick a draft of Vortex, he was disappointed there weren’t enough beautiful cello melodies. After a great deal of arguing, I realized he was right. I reworked the piece with that in mind and the final version intermingles soaring cello melodies with kinetic, pulsating energy. The strings swirl vibrantly all around the central voice of the cello, as if pushing and pulling against the currents of life. You might think of the work as a hero’s journey during uncertain times, resolved at the end by all the players uniting in a feeling of celebration.

The work is scored for solo cello and seven strings (3 violins, 2 violas, 1 cello, 1 double bass). Vortex is co-commissioned by Music in the Vineyards with support by Anne and Greg Evans, and by Chamber Music Sedona.”

- Michael Stephen Brown, 2022

Watch

Michael Stephen Brown: Vortex for Cello and Strings
Nicholas Canellakis, solo cello
Susie Park, Bella Hristova, Arnaud Sussmann, Violins
Paul Neubauer, Melissa Reardon, violas
Dmitri Atapine, cello
Scott Pingel, bass

Review

"Opening with accented chords, Vortex weaves heroic solo passages with a relentless energy in the ensemble while always leaving a space for the soloist to soar and retreat — which Canellakis did with verve, technical brilliance, and musical flair. The cello has more than its fair share of beautiful melodies in its repertoire, but now Vortex adds another voice to that list.” -Cleveland Classical