Michael Daugherty

Brooklyn Bridge

Michael Daugherty about Brooklyn Bridge:Designed by John Roebling (1806-1869), the BrooklynBridge endures as the most admired and best-loved bridge in New York City. After the opening of the bridge to the public in 1883, Harper's Monthly reported, The wise man will not cross the bridge in five minutes, nor in twenty. He will linger to get the good of the splendid view about him. As I have lingered and walked across the BrooklynBridge over the years, the stunning vistas of the New York skyline have inspired me to compose a panoramic clarinet concerto.Like the four cables of webs of wire and steel that hold the BrooklynBridge together, my ode to this cultural icon is divided into four movements. Each movement of the clarinet concerto is a musical view from the BrooklynBridge:I. East: Brooklyn and BrooklynHeightsII. South: Statue of LibertyIII. West: Wall Street and the lower Manhattan skyline which once was dominated by the WorldTradeTowersIV. North: EmpireStateBuilding, ChryslerBuilding, and RockefellerCenterIn the final movement of the concerto, I also imagine Artie Shaw, the great jazz swing clarinettist of the 1940s, performing with his orchestra in the once glorious Rainbow Room on the sixty-fifth floor of the RockefellerCenter.