Chamber Symphony

The Chamber Symphony has had many performances and was featured on the American tours of the Longines Symphonette. A review from the Orlando Sentinel states: “James Niblock’s Chamber Symphony proved the most interesting work of the evening, and the scoring precisely suited the Symphonette. It is fresh and exuberant, tuneful and mildly dissonant. The slow movement had an elegiac quality. Mr. Piastro led it with relish and zest and the playing was neat and clear, the texture transparent.”

The first movement contrasts strong rhythmic motives with long lyrical lines. The second adagio movement features flowing melodies in the strings with wind solos singing above the strings. The third scherzo movement is a “tour de force” with persistent asymmetrical rhythms. The final allegro is a rondo with varied melodic and rhythmic designs.