”[But] Gatonska’s orchestral writing is so evocative and surprising that it’s impossible to resist.”
- Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle
SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Ecotopia IV - (2021) chamber orchestra
Commissioned by the 33rd Krakow International Festival of Composers and Ensemble ONM
Szymon Bywalec, conductor.
Duration - 14’ (1,1,1,1-1,1,1,1, perc2, harp, pf, violin2, viola, violoncello, contrabass)
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“Gatonska drew attention primarily to the play of verticals and levels. Indeed, the textural aspect was one of the most riveting. It was relatively easy to follow ostinato repeated gestures, sudden entries of chords of spectral provenance (even bringing to mind Gérard Grisey's "grounded", deeply rooted Partiels chords), and clear movements of "tectonic layers".
-Dominka Mical, Written by Ear
Οικοτοπία (Ecotopia) - (2019) symphony orchestra
Duration - 45’ (3,3,3,3-4,3,3,1, perc3, tmp, pf, strings)
Environment II “Air” - score for perusal
In autumn woods a traveler - (2009) symphony orchestra
Duration - 17’
Commissioned by the Hoeschler Foundation and Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor.
(3,3,3,3-4,3,3,1,-perc3,tmp,pf, strings)
“The major complexity element of the evening was supplied by Michael Gatonska’s After the wings of migratory birds, a brilliantly rendered tone poem based on the composer’s re-imagination of the sounds made by swallows gathering in migratory flocks–the way they sound when they move at the same time, the way they all flap their wings in unison, the way they suddenly fall perfectly still at the same time. The orchestration was dense and often breathtaking, with some stunning moments of pure beauty in the strings. I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that this is a La Mer for the age of complexity.”
- Jerry Bowles, Sequenza 21
The Whispering Wind - (2001 revised 2006) symphony orchestra
Duration - 12’
Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music
Marin Alsop, conductor.
(2,2,2,2-4,2,2,1-perc3, tmp, pf, strings)
Buy/Rent this score from Publisher: Babel Scores
“Gatonska’s ‘The Whispering Wind’ was probably the best. It builds from a rustle to a fumbling menagerie, with clumped and jagged harmonies, blaring circus brass and thrusting plastic rhythms out of free jazz.”
- Richard Scheinin, San Jose Mercury News
Wandering the Moon Nursery - (2005) symphony orchestra
Duration - 18’
Commissioned by Roberts Foundation and Hartford Symphony Orchestra.
Edward Cumming, conductor.
(3,3,3,3-4,3,3,1,perc3,tmp,pf, strings)
“Indeed, Gatonska’s music sounded like a discursive dream, interspersed with moments of sheer enchantment and warm, masterful orchestration.”
- Matthew Eriksen, Hartford Courant
Voyage to the Sun - (2005) symphony orchestra
Duration - 14’
Pacific Symphony, Carl St. Clair, conductor.
(2,2,2,2-4,2,2,1, perc3, tmp, pf, strings)
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An Expedition Aboard the Third Mind - (2004) symphony orchestra
Duration - 10’
Winner of the 2005 Paul Underwood Commission
American Composers Orchestra, Paul Dunkel, conductor.
(3,3,3,3-4,3,3,1, perc3,tmp, pf, strings)
STRING ORCHESTRA
Deep is the Voice of the Forest - (2017) string orchestra
Duration - 16’30”
Radom Chamber Orchestra, Dawid Runtz, conductor.
(5,4,3,3,1)
Available at DUX Record Producer Poland
Transformation of the Hummingbird - (2003) string orchestra
Duration - 14’
Recipient of the 2003 MATA Festival Young Composer Commission
SONYC/String Orchestra of New York City
(10,4,3,1)
Available at Albany Records
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“[Gatonska’s] 14-minute piece unfolds as an extremely varied and imaginative series of brief episodes that embrace a wide range of musical vocabularies. I wasn’t always sure I detected an over-arching aesthetic meaning to the work, but the more I listened to it, the more convinced I became.”
- Walter Simmons, FANFARE Magazine