About this Piece

The word étude has traditionally been associated with solo repertoire, particularly in the 19th-century piano tradition of composers such as Chopin and Liszt. In Estudios Sinfónicos, I extend this concept to the orchestra, treating it as a single, grand instrument capable of immense virtuosity and expressive range.

Each of the five movements focuses on specific musical parameters—rhythm, orchestral color, and texture—explored through intricate interactions between solo instruments and orchestral sections. These studies highlight both the technical and the expressive possibilities of the modern orchestra, combining virtuosic writing with expressive melodic writing.

By imposing the limitation of open strings, Cuerdas al Aire (Open Strings) explores the sonic possibilities that emerge when the string section performs on open strings. The resulting resonance is enhanced by the rest of the orchestra, which both amplifies these sonorities and provides contrapuntal contrast. In Montuno, rhythmic patterns introduced at the outset by the piano and percussion frame the étude. Following each recurrence, solo instruments engage in improvisatory gestures reminiscent of the montuno section in salsa, creating a dynamic interplay between fixed structural elements and spontaneous-sounding expression.

Perhaps the most profound musical expressions of love and suffering are found in the boleros written in Mexico, Cuba, and Puerto Rico during the 1940s and 1950s. I remember listening to these beautiful and often tragic ballads while growing up in Puerto Rico. In Bolero, I seek to evoke their dark harmonic language and deeply expressive melodic lines—music that continues to resonate within my sonic imaginarium. The playful and luminous Escalas y Arpegios (Scales and Arpeggios) follows. This movement reflects the tradition of the solo étude by invoking its fundamental exercise-based character. Playful textures built from scales and arpeggios unfold across the full orchestral spectrum.

The final étude, Pasacalle con Plena (Passacaglia with Plena), is a rhythmic and contrapuntal tour de force. After the passacaglia bass is introduced and a series of variations unfolds, a plena—an Afro-Puerto Rican popular genre—is introduced while the passacaglia motive continues. The plena variations gradually merge with the original ostinato bass, bringing the work to a powerful and exuberant conclusion.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic commissioned Estudios Sinfónicos, and it is dedicated to Maestro Gustavo Dudamel.

—Roberto Sierra