BALADA: Symphony No. 5 / Prague Sinfonietta / Divertimentos

Symphony No. 5 'American' (2003) explores two styles in the same work in an evolutionary structure. One of these styles identifies with my avant-garde period, which is dramatic and angular and spans from the mid sixties to the mid-seventies. During that period, in works like Guernica (Naxos 8.557342) and Steel Symphony, I used a long list of technical resources: atonality, aleatoric devices, clustered harmonies, no tunes, no traditional harmonies, strong rhythms and big contrast of dynamics. Then in 1968 with Sinfonia en Negro - Homage to Martin Luther King, a new style came to the fore which was fully implemented in 1975 with Homage to Casals and Sarasate (Naxos 8.557342). In this new period I blend the ways of the avant-garde with ethnic ideas, creating a symbiosis of these two worlds. Symphony No. 5 uses these two styles. The symphony, in three movements, is a kaleidoscope of emotions. The work evolves from one stage of darkness at the beginning to a high point of light and unrepent