Philip Armstrong

Symphonic Stele

“Symphonic Stele” for small orchestra was written in 2025.

Introduction:

The Symphonic Stele is a celebration of the Western classical music heritage and its significant achievements as regards artistry and cultural expression. There is lament for the passing of this tradition, for its turning away from exploration of the new and the originality that made it so meaningful within society. There is reference to accomplishments of the past, to the work of Stravinsky, Bartok and Kurtag as examples of the pinnacles of contemporary culture and thought. But the development of music has moved beyond this tradition, and there is lament that such high points have become an irrelevance, with even the most competent and compelling of conductors restricted to leading performances only of popularized material, and the most remarkable instrumentalists forced to play the same material merely for their personal upkeep.