The world premiere of “The Swordfishers - Tone Poem for Lithophones, Slit Drums and Orchestra."
After learning of an article by Duncan Caldwell in American Antiquity identifying stone rods from ancient New England as probable lithophones, the conductor of the Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Christopher Wilkins, asked Donald Krishnaswami to compose this concerto to celebrate the soundscapes experienced by their makers as they played the instruments, felled trees, carved sea-worthy canoes and even hunted swordfish. The ensemble played the public rehearsal and world premiere of Don’s work at the Hatch Shell in Boston on Aug. 19, 2015. Don and Duncan wrote the program notes (pp. 8-10) together, while Don wrote an article called “Composing for Log Drums and Orchestra” about the compositional process for The Juilliard Journal. The concerto was also reviewed by the Boston Globe and Boston Classical Review.
