Visions
for flute, string orchestra and piano
Visions for flute, string orchestra and piano was written in 1957, in Pártos’ second compositional period (which is, according to him, his most fertile one). The piece is based on traditional Yemenite musical material, but it is not being quoted in the piece: Pártos catches the spirit of the music in recurring themes of the musical material and gives them his own personal expression. The orchestration of the piece - flute, string orchestra and piano - is a “cost effective” orchestration that forces Pártos to use the musical material he has creatively and orchestrate the piece colorfully.
The piece is comprised of three movements - slow, fast, slow. In the first movement, the strings are the most dominant, and they have massive presence with a big, threatening sound; in the second movement, which is furious and energetic, the whole ensemble plays together, and the flute and strings share the center of attention with fast, energetic passages. The third movement opens with the sounds of a solo violin accompanied by the piano, after which the flute continues the violin’s melodic line, this time with the accompaniment of the entire string orchestra, which plays until the soft, still ending together with the piano.