Program note: Joseph Giovinazzo's "In the Shape of an Embrace for solo violin"
- © Joseph Giovinazzo
- Source: Produced for and provided by Melbourne Composer's League
Joseph Giovinazzo is an Australian composer, active in the promotion of
contemporary Australian music: past president of the Melbourne Composers’
League; hosted and co-produced New Music Now; helped create and
establish MikroPolyphonie. Dr Giovinazzo continues to explore a diverse
range of musical and artistic interests, often with a political disposition. In
reflecting on his music, he says: “As a composer, my aspiration is a music
that speaks to the common humanity residing in all of us; a music that, in its
abstraction, captures the passions of optimism; a music that is intimate in its
touch, but universal in its communication.”
The phrase “in the shape of an embrace” is a reference to the physical
connection a string performer has with his or her instrument in the course of
performance; it paints a picture of the physical nature of performance, a
physical connection between performer and instrument that carries a deeply
personal experience. As the word “embrace”, in particular, suggests a
personal quality, an almost affectionate encounter that goes beyond the
physical, the work in question is designed to evoke the emotional implication
of this particular performing experience.