List of Works || Conversations for Three Guitars

Conversations for Three Guitars was commissioned by the Amsterdams Guitar Trio with the support of the Canada Council. Weinzweig had previously written two extensive solo works for guitar: Contrasts (1976) and Eighteen Pieces for Guitar (1980). In this work, Weinzweig combines his continued enthusiasm for the texture and timbre of the instrument with his interest for dialogue between performers. The section titles are suggestive of the kinds of “conversations” the three guitars will have.

As in the Clarinet Quartet (1965) and Duologue for Two Pianos (1990), Weinzweig avoids a mundane homogenous timbre by assigning different thematic profiles to each player. In “Chitchat,” the three guitars play simultaneously, alternating out-of-synch fast melodies over pedal tones with homorhythmic appoggiatura gestures. In “Would you believe it” and “Pause for Reflection,” the first guitar emerges as the dominant voice over the other two guitars, who play together. By “Disaccord,” the three guitars have gained thematic independence. “Entente cordiale” returns to the two-against-one texture of previous sections. The collegial nature of this conversation brings together the three instruments for the section’s closing measures. In “Parting Words,” the opening homorhythmic texture suggests a consensual parting, but the dissonant musical language leaves the audience wondering at its amicability. Each guitar takes turn bidding “farewell” before a return to the dense homorhythm.

Written by Alexa Woloshyn