Liquid Interface

Liquid Interface is a symphony in four movements for electronica and orchestra by the American composer Mason Bates. The work was commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra and was premiered February 22, 2007 in Washington, D.C., with the orchestra led by conductor Leonard Slatkin. The piece is dedicated to composer John Corigliano.

Bates first drew inspiration for the symphony from bodies of water. Bates detailed this inception in the score program notes, writing:

Water has influenced countless musical endeavors - La Mer and Siegfried's Rhine Journey quickly come to mind - but it was only after living on Berlin's enormous Lake Wannsee did I become consumed with a new take on the idea. Over the course of barely two months, I watched this huge body of water transform from an ice sheet thick enough to support sausage venders, to a refreshing swimming destination heavy with humidity. If the play of the waves inspired Debussy, then what about water in its variety of forms?

The form of Liquid Interface thus follows the progression of water in a world of increasing global warming. The third movement "Crescent City" also features a musical tribute to the city of New Orleans through the use of Dixieland swing.

Liquid Interface has a duration of roughly 25 minutes and is composed in four movements:

Liquid Interface is scored for electronica and orchestra, comprising three flutes (all doubling piccolo), three oboes (3rd doubling English horn), three clarinets (3rd doubling bass clarinet and E-flat clarinet), three bassoons (3rd doubling contrabassoon), four French horns, three trumpets, two tenor trombones, bass trombone, tuba, three percussionists, harp, piano, and strings.

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