What Is a Concert Opener?
A concert opener is a work chosen to begin a concert or a major part of a program. Traditionally, an overture often served this purpose. Contemporary composers also write independent orchestral works that can function as concert openers.
There is no single required form, character, or duration. An opener may be brilliant and energetic, but it does not have to be. It may instead begin quietly, introduce an unusual orchestral color, or establish a particular atmosphere.
What matters is not the title of the form, but the role the piece plays in the program.
Why Choose a Short Orchestral Piece?
A short work can give a concert a distinct opening without occupying a large part of the program. This can be especially useful when the concert already includes a symphony, concerto, or another large-scale composition.
It can also provide contrast. A short contemporary work placed before a familiar piece can introduce a different musical language, orchestral color, or atmosphere before the program moves into larger territory.
Brevity does not necessarily mean that a work is slight or incomplete. A concise composition can be a complete musical statement in its own right.
What Should a Conductor Consider?
When considering an unfamiliar orchestral work for a concert, duration is only one factor. Practical questions matter as well:
How long is the piece?
What instrumentation does it require?
Does it require additional players?
What are the technical and rehearsal demands?
Can I listen to the work before considering it?
Can I see the score?
Are the orchestral parts available?
Instrumentation can be particularly important. A short piece that uses forces already required elsewhere in the program may be easier to include than one requiring substantial additional personnel or unusual instruments.
For a new work, therefore, information about duration, instrumentation, score, parts, and audio should be readily available.
Does a Concert Opener Have to Be Fast and Brilliant?
No.
There are many energetic openers, and brilliance or immediate impact can certainly be effective at the beginning of a concert. But this is not a rule.
A concert can begin by attracting attention through delicacy rather than volume, or through an unusual sonority rather than a fanfare. A quiet or transparent piece can create a strong beginning precisely because it asks the audience to listen in a different way.
The useful question is therefore not “Does this sound like a typical opener?” but rather “What kind of beginning will this piece create for this particular concert?”
Can a Two-Minute Orchestral Piece Be Complete?
Yes.
Musical completeness is not determined by duration alone. Some musical ideas naturally lead to extended development. Others reach their conclusion much sooner.
A short orchestral work does not have to be an excerpt, a miniature version of a larger piece, or merely an introduction to something else. It can have its own musical trajectory and arrive at its own conclusion.
In my own composing, I do not begin by deciding that a piece must reach a particular duration. I consider a work complete when the original idea has developed sufficiently and the musical flow as a whole feels complete.
This can sometimes result in a very short piece.
Example
Sunrise — A 2-Minute Orchestral Work
My orchestral work Sunrise is one example. It lasts approximately 2 minutes and 8 seconds and is written for double-wind orchestra.
The piece began from an earlier musical idea. During the process of orchestration, however, a sustained G in the horn unexpectedly brought to mind the image of the sun rising through mist above the water. As the orchestration developed, that image became increasingly connected with the music, and the work eventually became Sunrise.
Within its short duration, individual woodwind colors emerge as the musical line passes through flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon. The piece is not an excerpt from a larger work. Its approximately two-minute duration is its complete form.
Because of its length and character, Sunrise can be considered as a short concert opener or encore.
▶ Listen to SunrisePreview — 35 sec.